Ember Court Rehearsal

Confused as to what to do after starting the timer?
1) Clean up the 4 spots
2) Wait for tea to spawn
3) Offer tea to Theotar
4) Offer tea to Watchmaster Boromod
5) Duel at least 1 of the Sinfall Recruits (per Boromod's request)
6) Either duel recruits to make it casual, or offer everyone and their grandmother some tea.
7) Go to the tribute stage (follow the NPCs)
8) Loot the chest
9) Talk to Prince Renathal

This quest is basically a scenario to train Venthyr folks to host Ember Courts (parties). I don't pretend to fully understand the mechanics, but I played through it a few times to get the hang of it. Here's what I learned:

-- The "event area" stretches from the refreshment tables all the way to the top of the stairs down to Sinfall.

-- The goblet gives you a buff that reduces mana cost but increases cooldowns.

-- The appetizer is food for healing.

-- Dueling six guards (during the main part of the scenario) will get you to the highest level with Watchmaster Boromod, but make Theotar unhappy.

-- You don't actually have to greet the guests as they come in. They'll proceed at their own pace to where they'll hang out during the event.

-- Serving tea to a slew of people (the folks you duel with, anyone hanging out near the tables, whatever) will make Theotar happy, but Watchmaster Boromod unahppy.

-- There doesn't seem to be a way to please both Watchmaster Boromod and Theotar. If things improve with one, things go downhill with the other. Such is the nature of the guest list. (Perhaps that's something to keep in mind for future events -- find people with similar habits so you can have a party with a universal theme).

-- There are five piles of rocks during the main part of the party. Cleaning them will make Temel happy. You can see them on your mini-map. One is near the tribute stage / stairs down to Sinfall. Don't miss it.

-- You can mount to move around faster.

-- If you didn't get a green hat from the imp then you're doing it wrong. Hats make all parties better. ;)

addendum: you only need 1 of the optional quests, then wait for the timer to reach 0. the mainquest doesn't switch to 1/1 before