Just an idea: players changing before the start of the spire get the message they cannot participate in the spire but then they can. Maybe something is going wrong with their points not counting but counting, something something...
Ok, this definitely could have happened. We had a player leave on Jan 4th. I have no idea if they had done any of the Spire by then, but if they had 15pts, that would make everything make more sense.the opposite is definitely true. If someone does some of the Spire and then leaves your fellowship, it screws with the points shown and the points the green + claims you need to spend to complete the next crystal.