As you are walking up the stairs, a maid comes running down holding a towering pile of linen.

You swiftly step aside and let her pass.

Gwenelle's party is lovely - not nearly as glamorous as your own upcoming birthday will be, of course, but it is still a major event on the noble social calendar. Everyone who is anyone is present. Uncle Laurent and your younger cousins are here, but Charlotte and her mother are not. Apparently Charlotte was ill. There are refreshments and dancers and musicians and polite conversations... and one or two not-so-polite.

The challenger explains the rules of formal dueling to you, including a carefully inscribed circle of wards which will contain the effects of any powers you wield, protecting bystanders from danger. And then it is time to begin. You trade attacks, one spell sensed and countered by another, reserving your strength as much as possible. It might almost be exciting if your life wasn't on the line.