The first contestant to step forward is a stylish woman wearing a fancy mask, leather armor gleaming as though it were metal, and a brilliant cloak.

"And our first contestant is the master thief Madison Ross, who traveled here all the way from Absalom!"

There is light clapping from the crowd.

Madison walks up to the double doors at the front of the Hall of Wards. A playing card appears in her hand.

She seems to flicker. A click pierces the silence, audible across the field. She swings the double doors swing open—

—and behind them is another set of double doors, this time made of stone!

The Hall of Wards does like to play its tricks. A master thief coming without any evident magic, though? The stories are a little forbidding, most people who make an attempt are trying some new spell interaction they think might help. At least she's good at playing to the crowd.

She draws another card, and balances it between her fingers. Her hand flickers upward through the seam of the stone doors.

She pulls them open. Behind them lie doors of iron with no handles and a single keyhole.

The crowd is beginning to get excited.

She steps forward and draws another card, dealing it like a casino game. It flies flush against the door. She draws another, and then another, and then another, until nearly a dozen cards cover it.

She snaps her fingers. The doors swing open.

The crowd cheers!

...Alright, that's impressive. She knew you could theoretically do things like that without magic, if you do the sorts of things that lead to gaining circles, but she hasn't ever actually seen it done. Unless there was someone like this at one of the breaching festivals before she could remember it, at least.

She— doesn't cheer. That would be improper of her. But she is getting excited, even if this isn't going to work in the end.

The next set is made of a shimmering pale metal, either silver or mithral.

She steps forwar—

Hundreds of arrows pour from the fourth set of doors. Their points, shafts, and crests are all solid metal.

The crowd screams as some go flying overhead.

Madison blurs backward with an impossible leap, skidding dozens of feet across the ground. Ten arrows impale her body.

She grits her teeth and starts pulling them out, one-by-one, as she walks back toward the doors.

The announcer is yelling. "—and would you look at that! She survived the Door of Steel!"

Ow. Isn't avoiding things like that supposed to be part of what thieves are good at? Well, she's still human, she's still going to fail, it shouldn't be too much of a surprise that she starts failing now.

(She is a little disappointed, though.)

She steps forward and draws a card. The glimmering doors stand before her. She covers the door in cards and snaps her fingers. The door does not open.

She frowns, pulls a potion from her belt, and drinks it. She tries again. Fails. She tries a different pattern, using daggers instead of cards. Fails.

It takes almost an entire minute, but eventually the fourth set of doors swings open.

The crowd has quieted down significantly.

The fifth set of doors are made of strange metal, deep blue and shifting like water. A glowing white rune stretches across them.

A brilliant crack of lightning flashes at Madison—

She was out of the way before the doors finished opening.

A shockwave emanates from the doorway. The wind howls and screams. Tencednil's shadow is knocked from the sky. Madison is flung backward thirty feet.

That's more what she was expecting! Much better, the thief may survive this yet. Her having to slow down is a bit disappointing, but she's still managing it when she takes her time.

(The shadow is buffeted by the winds, but appears to shake it off without issue! It floats back into place and returns to its observation.)

She stands up and pushes through the winds. They blow her mask off, but slowly she manages to climb through the doorway. She draws a card, having to grip it with both hands as she slashes down across the rune.

The winds cease as quickly as they came, and the rune fades away. She pulls the doors open effortlessly.

The crowd is roaring again!

This time, Tencednil is too! That was much more impressive than last time, she got through it apparently unscathed and got the door open immediately. A good showing!