About this story
Godfrey Bertram asks you to cast the newborn's horoscope, and the chart you draw marks three dangerous years ahead of him, far more than idle calculation should find. Before dawn, Meg Merrilies arrives uninvited to bless the child and warn that the house's mounting debts endanger him more than any star, leaving you to decide how much of the omen his father should ever see.
How it opens
November darkness caught you sketching ruins farther from Kippletringan than any villager admitted.
Your tired horse chose a fork where the fingerpost had long ago lost its directions.
JockThe inn lies back across the moss, but Ellangowan will shelter a gentleman tonight.
Godfrey BertramA stranger is doubly welcome while my wife labours and every clock contradicts another.
Choose
My horse found your road after I lost it.
I sought Kippletringan, but the night made the choice.