My reading of the circles test seems to make it really difficult to pass successfully unless you are looking for somemouse like neutral laborers. Given that a mouse often finds himself injured or sick, a healer can come in handy. However, I understand a healer to typically be something like obstacle 6 (uncommon in town, 3; no power to speak of, 1; and willing to help in some capacity, 2). Even Gwendolyn is only Circles 6. Unassisted she would be successful 1.5% of the time. With two mice assisting she would only be at 14.4%. Add hometown advantage and finding a prior contact and we’re still at 37.7%.
Buying things seems comparatively easy. Even a sword or heavy armor is only obstacle 4.
As an aside, what do you typically do with neutral (1 factor) or unhelpful (0 factor) mice anyway? Do you need to pass a persuasion check against their will to get them to be willing to help?