Oliver could hardly look as Tavar plunged his hand into the coin pouch again. The sheer laws of probability, to pick so many fors in a row, in a mere bag of ten, he knew it was over, even without looking.
Hod's eyebrow was wrinkled, disbelieving. He knew his efforts had been worth more than one vote for Against. He thought he knew the minds of people, how to influence them. He hadn't expected an easy victory, but he hadn't expected a complete blowout. Could it be, that the corruption ran deeper than he thought? Perhaps that old fool of a High King had seen this, and he'd meddled with the Lords in advance? It was not impossible. Hod cursed himself for overlooking it. He'd grown rusty this wasn't meant to be—
