“I’m not riding another furlong with you,” Tauler said, now much more calmly, “until you tell me what this is about.”

“As you wish,” said Scharley slowly. “Suit yourself.”

“We helped you in the tavern, didn’t we? We got involved, didn’t we? We’re in difficulty now, aren’t we? Don’t you think a word of explanation is called for?”

“Yes. I mean, no. It isn’t.”

“Then I…” Tauler almost choked. “I…”

“I don’t know about you,” said Amadej Baťa, staring at Samson as he walked his horse up on the other side, “but I know what I want. I want to know how the hell the ones came up on the loaded dice instead of the sixes. I’d gladly learn how to do it—for a fee, naturally. I understand it’s magic, but can anyone do it? Or does one need some special power? If so, I wonder what?”

“A mighty power!” Reynevan, who had been listening, finally got his feelings off his chest. “A great one! An unimaginable one! Such a power that I wonder if there’s any point—”

“Restrain yourself.” Scharley quietened him harshly. “You’ve said enough!”

“I’ll say what I want!”

“I observe,” Berengar Tauler snorted, “that there’s a lack of consensus regarding the event among you, too, and that a family squabble is about to erupt. And since Baťa and I aren’t family, we’ll ride away a stretch. When you’ve said all you need to say, call us and we’ll decide what to do next.”

There was a pause once they were left alone. Reynevan felt the anger draining from him but didn’t know where or how to start. Scharley couldn’t be counted on; he never spoke first in situations like that. The horses snorted.

“In the gambling den, what had to happen, happened,” Samson Honeypot finally said. “It was inevitable. It had to happen because… no other course of events was possible, since any alternative course of events would have meant indifference. Consent. Approval. Tolerance. What we saw in the gambling den, what we were witnesses to, ruled out indifference and inactivity, and thus there was really no alternative. Thus, what had to happen, happened. And the dice… Why, dice, generally speaking, are governed by similar principles when they roll. They fall as they have to fall.”

Reynevan heard the girl in front of Samson sighing softly.

“And essentially, I have nothing else to add,” continued Samson. “If you wish to ask anything… Reinmar? A moment ago, I had the impression something was vexing you.”