- Title
- The Borrowed Antler
- Genre
- Fantasy
- Premise
- A theatre prop mender is asked to repair a ceremonial antler crown for a winter guild procession that still follows old forest rules.
- Specific job/task
- He must replace three cracked tines before the procession marshal inspects the costume rail.
- Precise setting detail
- The workbench is squeezed under the balcony stairs, between paint tins, velvet offcuts and a locked cabinet of ritual bells.
- Mundane system complication
- The guild ledger treats every antler as a tribute item, so repairs require a fee, a witness and a stamped permission card.
- Decision that turns the story
- He signs the permission card in his own name to protect the apprentice who borrowed the crown without asking.