If you are new to this blog I suggest you go back to the oldest post and work your way forward. On with the story:
Sitting at the table in the small main
room of Dima's house, Pelu almost felt like he was at home again. It had been
weeks since he had eaten a home cooked meal. Most of his food had been dried
rations that wouldn't spoil as he traveled. It was a simple meal of stew and
biscuits, but it tasted like a meal fit for a king to Pelu. The meat and
vegetables were fresh and the biscuits were warm and soft. There were flavors
in the stew that he had never tasted before. The capitol city was a hub of
trade, and even those who didn't have much still had access to ingredients that
were unknown in the countryside. He ate with gusto, not speaking and hardly
hearing the words that drifted across the table around him.
As his hunger subsided Pelu finally
became fully aware of the room around him and people he was sharing it with. It
was a small, dark room. The walls were papered with a simple pattern and only a
few small oil lamps lit it. One corner was filled with a range where the stew
was being kept warm. A few cabinets and bureaus provided a useful adornment for
the rest of the room. The stone floor was covered with a thin rug that looked
well worn. The table he was seated at filled the center of the room. He shared
it with friendly young woman he had met earlier along with an older couple who
had been introduced as her parents and a boy who was her brother.
Pelu glanced at Dima and sensed that a smile was hiding just behind her gaze as she looked back at him. He suddenly realized how rude he must have been as he focused only on eating, and he became embarrassed. "I'm sorry" he said, "it's been a long time since I had a real home cooked meal."
Dima's mother smiled at him. "No apology needed. It's a compliment to my cooking to see you enjoy it so much. Tell us, what brings you so far from home?"
"Well," he began, "I grew up in a small village at the outer edge of the kingdom. We didn't know much about the capitol except the stories we heard from traveling merchants and the soldiers who came to collect our taxes. Everybody agreed that the royals were good for us. They protected us from invaders. Everything else was a mystery. People were content to raise their crops and livestock. To cook their bread and smith their plows. We had everything we needed right in our own town and everybody seemed happy with that. Except me."
"I always felt like there was more to life. Like there were things to see, places to go and people to meet. I felt like there was something bigger and greater that I could do to make a difference instead of just living each day like the last one. Some of the traveling merchants had told us wondrous tales of the Inventor’s Guild and the magnificent things they created. I have dreams and ideas, and the guild is filled with people who create things that change the world, so I decided I would go find a way in. Now that I'm here, though, that dream seems further away than it ever did before I started following it."
Pelu glanced at Dima and sensed that a smile was hiding just behind her gaze as she looked back at him. He suddenly realized how rude he must have been as he focused only on eating, and he became embarrassed. "I'm sorry" he said, "it's been a long time since I had a real home cooked meal."
Dima's mother smiled at him. "No apology needed. It's a compliment to my cooking to see you enjoy it so much. Tell us, what brings you so far from home?"
"Well," he began, "I grew up in a small village at the outer edge of the kingdom. We didn't know much about the capitol except the stories we heard from traveling merchants and the soldiers who came to collect our taxes. Everybody agreed that the royals were good for us. They protected us from invaders. Everything else was a mystery. People were content to raise their crops and livestock. To cook their bread and smith their plows. We had everything we needed right in our own town and everybody seemed happy with that. Except me."
"I always felt like there was more to life. Like there were things to see, places to go and people to meet. I felt like there was something bigger and greater that I could do to make a difference instead of just living each day like the last one. Some of the traveling merchants had told us wondrous tales of the Inventor’s Guild and the magnificent things they created. I have dreams and ideas, and the guild is filled with people who create things that change the world, so I decided I would go find a way in. Now that I'm here, though, that dream seems further away than it ever did before I started following it."
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