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:

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Jacob led Pelu down one of the countless side streets that branched off from the main road. As they walked, Pelu became aware of a growing noise in the air. It became louder and louder as they walked further down the street. As they came upon a side alley he finally understood what the noise was.

The alley was filled with vendor's carts and people were packed between them. Hundreds of people were gathered there buying and selling. The noise of it all was almost overwhelming to Pelu, who had never been in such a large crowd before. He hesitated for a moment but Jacob walked right in, nimbly dodging between the carts and countless patrons. Pelu tried to follow but constantly found himself bumping into other people. At first he apologized to each person he ran into. He soon gave up on that as he didn't have time to finish one apology before hitting another person.

Pelu realized that in his attempts to avoid colliding with other people he had taken his eyes off of Jacob. He searched in every direction but saw no sign of him. Panic began to overtake him as the crowd closed in around him. He felt like they were closing off his supply of air and began breathing faster and faster, trying to take in enough clean air, but all he could find was the thick scent of humanity tainted with the smell of spices he didn't recognize. Pelu's knees grew weak and his legs began to tremble. Just then he felt someone grab his arm. He expected a confrontation but as he turned he recognized a familiar face instead.

"Come on" Jacob said. "I'll get you out of the crowd for a while. I almost lost you for a moment. I forgot you aren't used to the city." With that, Pelu allowed himself to be pulled by the arm through the sea of bodies until they reached a side alcove that had no people in it. The smell of bodies was replaced by a more putrid one but he breathed freely now that he had some space around him.

"What is this place?" Pelu asked. Jacob responded "This is where they dump their trash. Goods that go bad, things nobody wants to buy, the core of an apple, they all end up here. All the vendors pay a small fee to use this area and part of that fee pays a man to cart all the trash away each night. It doesn't smell that good but it's the nearest place we could get away from the crowd."

A grimace crept onto Pelu's face. "I meant all people. Why do they gather here?"

"Oh. That. This is the bazaar. It's one of many in the city but this is the biggest one near home. People who can't afford a shop or don't want to sell their goods to a shopkeeper who will mark them up for a profit come here to sell things directly. You can find a lot of things here that are fresher and less expensive than any of the shops nearby carry. The crowds keep some people out so the shops still have business. It works out for everyone. I come here most days to get what we need for dinner. I also deliver things for some of the vendors sometimes."

"I've never seen so many people in one place before. It's overwhelming."

"If you want, you can wait here while I talk to a few people. It won't be long. Just don't go anywhere and don't take anything anyone offers you. You can trust most people around here but not all of them."