Swamped

At first you're not sure what Harbottle is talking about. The first thing that crosses your mind is unusual movement by the stars or constellations, but that doesn't sound at all sensible, and everything is about where you expect it to be. You aren't an expert like Harbottle is, but you know where things are in relationship to each other. The Longboat's figurehead is where it should be, and everything around that looks normal... the Poet, the Wash-Basin, Anna the Maiden...

As you glance at Anna the Maiden, however, you realize what Harbottle is saying. The four stars of the Maiden's Smile aren't on the chart. That doesn't normally happen until the winter.

"How is the Maiden's Veil happening so early?" you ask.

"Well. Do you know the main theory as to what causes the Maiden's Veil?"

You shake your head. You don't follow astronomy that closely.

"We don't really have the means to prove this, but we believe that the four stars of the Maiden's Smile are each orbited by a very large planet. Large enough that, at some point in the cycle, it blocks the light from the star. Like an eclipse, only we're seeing it from much further off."

"And these planets happen to have a cycle that's close to our year? And they all get blocked at once, for about two weeks in mid-winter?"

"So the theory goes. It would be quite the coincidence, of course, but far from impossible."

"So why is it showing up earlier?"

"The most obvious extrapolation would be that we're seeing some other celestial bodies blocking the stars, perhaps on a less regular cycle. That, of course, is assuming there's no magic or divine intervention involved."

It's certainly odd, but you're not sure there's anything to be done about it other than reporting the observation. You make a note about it.

Is there anything else to be done here before you climb back down?