"That's two! You'll need two more to start!"

If the challenge includes eating, he is in.  If it means he has to cook, he looks not nearly as happy, but says he will help if they need another person, but  he gives out a warning, "I really don't cook too much except over on a campfire."

"There'll be eating after, but only once it's made! That's two enthusiastic, one less so... any others?"

He turns to the folks wandering around, some entering into the tent, "We're about ready to start the next Challenge, we just need one more participant! Any takers?! Your chance to be the talk of the Market if you can beat the record!"

((If Mialee and Liber are abstaining, just let me know for sure and I'll move things forward!))

((I think the others went for the hide-and-seek challenge?))

((Mialee did, not sure what Liber is up to.))

Liber follows mialee, given that a deduction failure is less ignonimous than a cooking failure.

Liber was greeted along with Mialee then!

"What are we making then?  What type of food?" he asks.   For a competition it seems to be pretty secret about the rules so far.

Mialee smiles at the woman.

"I'd love to play hide and seek! I'm Mialee- I assume you're Madam Kulp?"

"You're helping make my famous shrimpcakes! Won the market-wide competition last year! For the competition, we're making a gigantic shrimpcake to feed the audience, but you can also buy it from the Trusty Leek cart around the Market. You there! You look a likely sort, want to join these fine folks in making a run at beating the record time for SID SQUID'S BATTLE PRAWN'S CHALLENGE: THE SHRIMPENING?!"

The big fellow he pointed to in the crowd looks around before pointing at his own chest, but receives encouragement from his companions and shrugs, coming over to join you. 

"Hey, guess we're competing together. I'm Prasong.", he shakes hands around with Trencher, Mixtli and Tanador. "Let's do this!"

"You'll be trying to prepare prawn meat and chop beans in record time, the time to beat is 40 seconds, so good luck! I'm gonna go work the crowd, one of my assistants will see you to the arena, see you in there!", Sid says as he hands you off to one of his yellow garbed assistants who leads you to a small changing room where there are assorted sizes of clean yellow aprons that match the chef outfits for you to wear during the competition.

"You'll want to be able to move fast, there's foot lockers there if you want to secure any purchases you made at the market, or other belongings during the competition, I'll wait outside, just join me when you're ready.", she says.

"Yes, yes, I'm Madam Kulp!", she says hopping up and placing a few of the caterpillars where she was sitting and moving over to a trapdoor in the floor in the center of the tent. A ladder descends into a dark, messy room full of boxes and furniture.

"Below are a series of rooms where several of my friends, these tut-krogh caterpillars, are hiding. The challenge is simple: descend the ladder and bring back four caterpillars within a minute. The only rule is that the caterpillars aren’t harmed. Are we clear on that?"

Mixtli greeds Prasong

"You a cook? What's you specialty?"

drops everything in the locked except for what he is wearing, his cook's utensils; that he checks for sharpness, and the newly bought spice box; you never know when you need those in a cooking challenge.

"Nope, I'm a bricklayer! Handling a ladle or knife can't be all that different from a trowel, right?"

"ummm, hmmm.  Well if we need to mix something up quick, I think I can probably be really good at that.  I can chop things really hard, but I don't think I'm all that fast at it.  I hope I will actually be able to help some."

"Well understood, Madam Kulp."

Mialee takes a moment to rub her hands together and steady her mind, then nods to the aged gnome. 

"I'm ready when you are; and by the way, I think a friend of mine might be along to try after me. Should I know anything else before beginning?"

Madam Kulp nods. "Is he going down with you?", she asks, gesturing at Liber. "Do the two of you want to wait for your friend? Don't think there's anything else to tell you, just to be careful of my friends."

"Ah! Wow, Liber, you're sneakier than I remember! Sorry, Madam Kulp, that's the friend. I'd like to head down together, personally- how do you feel, Liber?"

"Having someone helping would make it easier to catch them in time!"

Tandor removes his pack and outer garments and stores them in a locker but retains his cooking gear (and the packet under his armor), also checking his knives for sharpness.  Finding one a little dull he gives a little tsk, runs it quickly across a sharpening stones, cleans it and looks are his partners.

"We ready?'"

Prasong thumps his chest. "Let's f***ing go!"

Trencher will start taking off weapons and backpack so he will be able to move around faster in the kitchen.  He only keeps one hand axe on him.

Before leaving that area though, he asks the person, "My weapons and stuff will be safe here, for sure?"  

He then back to the main area of the shrimp tent.