A new day comes.

You lay back in the living room one morning with your short sword over your lap, and half your party is lounging around with you. You're in the middle of rubbing the blade down with oil when Amara walks in with a piece of paper in her hand, and she steps over to hand it out towards you. Upon closer inspection, it's a letter, and it's addressed to you by name.

"Mail came for you, Mr. Warren," she says.

"For me?" The wax seal on the front has the symbol of rabbit ears with a rose between. You take it curiously and tear open the side, and the message inside is written with lovely calligraphy skill.

Dear Kyle Warren,
A ball will be held at the Moonglow Estate come noon tomorrow, and if you wish, you may attend along with one other guest of your choice. The ball shall be hosted by Lord Relestel himself, and will include a luncheon as well as a dinner, with dancing in between, and music by an esteemed troupe from afar. Please dress accordingly for the occasion as well. Other noblemen and nobleladies shall be in attendance, as well as note-worthy adventurers, so feel free to greet and mingle with those of high regard.
Sincerely,
House Relestel

Before you know it, your entire party is awkwardly leaning over in an attempt to read the note as well. You scowl at them like you're scolding children and lower the letter down to your lap.

"Aw c'mon, Kyle. What is it?" Niki asks.

"I saw the symbol of the Relestels," Eva adds.

You nod. "Yeah. It's some sort of party invitation being held at their estate tomorrow. But why me?"

Niki tugs the paper out from your lap and begins to scan it over with her eyes. "Oh I've heard of this before. Sometimes, the upper-class invites adventurers to their parties to figure out who would be best to trust with special quests. You know those nobles. They like to mingle and figure out ways to one-up each other. Pretty annoying if you ask me. But free food!"

Eva perks up. "What kind of food?"

"Those nobles know how to eat, let me tell you," Niki mutters, and looks like she's going to start drooling any moment.

You yoink the letter back. It's a +1 invitation too. I wonder who I should bring?

"It says to dress accordingly," you say. "I guess that means I'd have to go out and buy something nice. Though, I guess I might as well, and we can do some kind of quest in the meantime to earn the money back."

"I know a great seamstress!" Eva interjects. "They can take your measurements and have it done long before the ball."

What if it's some kind of trap? Is that weird to think? Maybe it'd be a good idea to bring one of them anyway, just in case.

You place your sword down on the table nearby and stand. Your eyes move between each of your party members, and then down to the note. You take a deep breath and say, "Apparently I can bring one guest with me too."

The party looks among each other.

Eva shifts her eyes to the floor bashfully. "I've never even considered going to something fancy like that. Would I even fit in? What would I wear?"

"A dress would look lovely on any of you," Amara says kindly. "I have never gone to something such as that myself either. I wonder if other elves will be in attendance."

Niki rolls her eyes. "The food sounds great, but the rest of it sounds like nothing related to me. I bet it'll be all slow-paced music and boring conversations."

I need to decide soon if this is actually happening so we can get out outfits and stuff figured out.