"He said that we should return these before leaving. He also mentioned talking to others and sharing food; I am assuming this is meant to be a very social event. In any event, we should find a place where we can observe Rukeewei's competition, then get some food for ourselves. We have been conservative with our gold so far, so try not to spend [i]too[/i] much." Meesei explained. Once again, she started to feel lost in the crowd, especially with how much was going on around her. The air was so overloaded with the scents of various foods that there was no real point in trying to catch the scent of any specific thing, and with how packed the square was, they had to wander for a few minutes before they stumbled on to what at least looked like a wine tasting competition. There was a long table on a slightly elevated platform with a set of judges, both Argonian and non-Argonian. Each judge had an elaborately decorated wine glass and altogether appeared 'refined' in some form. Meesei could understand how the competitors would be excited about the event, but she wondered why anyone in the crowd would actually find it interesting to watch. At least, she wondered that until she saw that the competition had staff giving out free samples of the drinks to the crowd. At that point, it made perfect sense. 

Meesei spotted Rukeewei waiting on the stage along with a few other participants, confirming that they were in the right place. They looked around for a few moments to find an empty spot on the ground, then laid down their rugs side-by-side. Meesei took a seat and looked up to the others. "I'll wait here while the rest of you get your food." She offered.

Lorag immediately went to collect one or two of the free glasses of wine, while Ahnasha headed to the center of the square towards the largest concentration of food. At the very center of all of the vendors was by far the largest booth. It was operated by two people, an Argonian male and, interestingly, a Dunmer female. They were surrounded by tables on all sides covered in food of all different styles, with crates in the center as well filled with what she assumed to be more food. There was quite a crowd collected around them, so Ahnasha waited in the shorter line, which led to the Dunmer. She had some time to look at the food and pick out what she thought was interesting. At the same time, she noticed someone else in the line beside her who seemed out of place. He was a small Argonian boy no taller than Ahnasha's legs. He seemed dirtier, and his clothes much more ragged than most of the others at the festival. Ahnasha had a hard time judging his expression, but he seemed nervous. When they reached the front of the line, the boy cut in front of Ahnasha, snatched up what looked like Khajiit pastry, then bolted away through the crowd. Ahnasha was caught off-guard, but when she looked to the Dunmer woman, she became even more confused. Instead of calling the guards, the Dunmer was simply laughing.

"Are you going to stop him?" Ahnasha asked,

"Only if he does it again. You see, this food is for everyone. To put up a stall for the day of feasting, each vendor has to contribute a portion of their food to the city. In turn, we put their food here and allow each visitor to the festival to select one item of their choice, completely for free. Go ahead, take your pick." The Dunmer explained, still with a bit of a chuckle. 

Ahnasha did not waste much time in selecting the cut of meat she was interested in, especially considering that others were waiting behind her. The Dunmer quickly read a small label near the meat she selected, then wrapped up a slice in a sort of thin, light cloth and handed it to her. "Fried assassin beetle abdomen, good choice. If you like it, then you should visit Tharaja's stall. Redguard cuisine is certainly exotic." 

"Of course, thank you." Ahnasha responded, looking at her choice curiously. She wondered what kind of creature it was that this meat came from. Considering that the cut she selected was the size of a steak, it would have to be quite a large beetle, especially since this was only [i]part[/i] of its abdomen.