Chapter 第六章 商人的隨從（昆汀一）
THE MERCHANT’S MAN
冒險號上臭氣熏天。
Adventure stank.
她宣稱六十只船槳，單桅帆，和細長的船身能夠保證它的高速。小，但應該夠用了，這是昆廷剛看到她時的想法，但那是在他登上她的甲板感受到她難聞的氣味之前的想法。豬，這是他最開始想到的，但嗅了第二下之后他改變了判斷。豬的氣味也要比這清新。這種臭味像是尿，爛肉和糞便發(fā)出的，像來自尸體的腐臭，流膿的惡瘡和潰爛的傷口，氣味如此強烈，完全蓋過蓋了海港中咸濕的空氣和魚腥的味道。
She boasted sixty oars, a single sail, and a long lean hull that promised speed. Small, but she might serve, Quentyn thought when he saw her, but that was before he went aboard and got a good whiff of her. Pigs, was his first thought, but after a second sniff he changed his mind. Pigs had a cleaner smell. This stink was piss and rotting meat and nightsoil, this was the reek of corpse flesh and weeping sores and wounds gone bad, so strong that it overwhelmed the salt air and fish smell of the harbor.
“我要吐了，”他對格里斯·酌水說。他們正等待著船主的出現(xiàn)，在高溫的烘烤下，腳底的甲板蒸騰著臭氣。
“I want to retch,” he said to Gerris Drinkwater. They were waiting for the ship’s master to appear, sweltering in the heat as the stench wafted up from the deck beneath them.
“如果船長聞起來和他的船差不多的話，他可能會誤以為你噴出來的是香水，”格里斯回答。
“If the captain smells anything like his ship, he may mistake your vomit for perfume,” Gerris replied.
昆廷正打算建議他們換條別的船試試時，船主終于露面了，身邊跟著兩個面目猙獰的船員。格里斯面帶微笑地問候他。盡管他的瓦蘭提斯語沒有昆廷好，但在他們計劃中必須由他當發(fā)言人。原本在板條鎮(zhèn)時昆廷扮演成酒商，但那可笑的表演惹惱了他，所以當多恩人在里斯換船時，他們也交換了角色。搭乘野云雀號時，克萊圖斯·伊倫伍德成了商人，昆廷是仆人；克萊圖斯在瓦蘭提斯遇害后，格里斯繼續(xù)扮演主人的角色。
Quentyn was about to suggest that they try another ship when the master finally made his appearance, with two vile-looking crewmen at his side. Gerris greeted him with a smile. Though he did not speak the Volantene tongue as well as Quentyn, their ruse required that he speak for them. Back in the Planky Town Quentyn had played the wineseller, but the mummery had chafed at him, so when the Dornishmen changed ships at Lys they had changed roles as well. Aboard the Meadowlark, Cletus Yronwood became the merchant, Quentyn the servant; in Volantis, with Cletus slain, Gerris had assumed the master’s role.
高大而白皙，藍綠色的眼睛，淺棕色的頭發(fā)被陽光照得閃亮，精干而英俊的身體，格里斯·酌水大搖大擺地走向他，帶著近乎傲慢的自信。他從來不會顯得拘束，即使他不會講這種語言時，他也有辦法讓自己被人理解。昆廷比起來就要差了一截——短腿而粗壯，新翻泥土似的棕色的頭發(fā)。他額頭太高了，他的下巴太方，他的鼻子太寬。一張善良誠實的臉，一位女孩曾經(jīng)這樣說它，但你應該多微笑。
Tall and fair, with blue-green eyes, sandy hair streaked by the sun, and a lean and comely body, Gerris Drinkwater had a swagger to him, a confidence bordering on arrogance. He never seemed ill at ease, and even when he did not speak the language, he had ways of making himself understood. Quentyn cut a poor figure by comparison—short-legged and stocky, thickly built, with hair the brown of new-turned earth. His forehead was too high, his jaw too square, his nose too broad. A good honest face, a girl had called it once, but you should smile more.
昆廷·馬泰爾從不輕易笑，比他的父親大人更甚。
Smiles had never come easily for Quentyn Martell, any more than they did for his lord father.
“你的冒險號有多快？”格里斯用一種磕磕絆絆差不多近似的高等瓦雷利亞語問道。
“How swift is your Adventure?” Gerris said, in a halting approximation of High Valyrian.
冒險號的主人認出了口音，用維斯特洛通用語回答?！皼]有更快的了，尊貴的大人。冒險號快得能追上風。告訴我你想去哪，我馬上就把你到那兒?！?/p>
The Adventure’s master recognized the accent and responded in the Common Tongue of Westeros. “There is none swifter, honored lord. Adventure can run down the wind itself. Tell me where you wish to sail, and swiftly I shall bring you there.”
“我和兩個隨從想搭船去彌林。”
“I seek passage to Meereen for myself and two servants.”
這話令船長變得猶豫。“我對去彌林不算陌生。我能再次找到那座城市，呃…但為什么？ 在彌林不再有奴隸了，那里掙不到錢。銀發(fā)女王終結了那個。她甚至已經(jīng)關閉了角斗場，如此一來，當一個可憐的水手在等待填滿他的貨倉時，甚至沒法給自己找些樂子。告訴我，我的維斯特洛朋友，彌林有什么東西吸引你去那里？”
That gave the captain pause. “I am no stranger to Meereen. I could find the city again, aye … but why? There are no slaves to be had in Meereen, no profit to be found there. The silver queen has put an end to that. She has even closed the fighting pits, so a poor sailor cannot even amuse himself as he waits to fill his holds. Tell me, my Westerosi friend, what is there in Meereen that you should want to go there?”
世上最美麗的女人，昆廷想。我未來的新娘，如果神靈們慈悲的話。有時夜里他躺在床上睜著雙眼想象她的容貌和身材，并好奇為什么這樣一個女人偏偏要嫁給他，在世上所有的王子之中挑中了他。我是多恩人，他告訴自己。她會想要多恩的。
The most beautiful woman in the world, thought Quentyn. My bride-to-be, if the gods are good. Sometimes at night he lay awake imagining her face and form, and wondering why such a woman would ever want to marry him, of all the princes in the world. I am Dorne, he told himself. She will want Dorne.
格里斯用他們事先編造好的故事做了回答?！柏溇剖俏覀兊募易迨聵I(yè)。我父親在多恩擁有廣闊的葡萄園，想讓我去開拓新的市場。希望彌林的好市民能喜歡我出售的美酒。”
Gerris answered with the tale they had concocted. “Wine is our family trade. My father owns extensive vineyards back in Dorne, and wishes me to find new markets. It is hoped that the good folk of Meereen will welcome what I sell.”
“酒？多恩的酒？”船長沒被說服?！芭`城市正在打仗。難道你不知道？”
“Wine? Dornish wine?” The captain was not convinced. “The slave cities are at war. Can it be you do not know this?”
“開戰(zhàn)的是淵凱和阿斯塔波，我們聽說了。彌林沒有參與?！?/p>
“The fighting is between Yunkai and Astapor, we had heard. Meereen is not involved.”
“還沒有。但快了。就是現(xiàn)在，一位來自淵凱[*1]的使者還在瓦蘭提斯招募劍手?！伴L矛團”已經(jīng)乘船去了淵凱，而且“狂風團”和“野貓盟”一旦補滿兵員也會馬上隨他們而去。黃金團也在向東進軍。這都是眾所周知的。”
“Not as yet. But soon. An envoy from the Yellow City is in Volantis even now, hiring swords. The Long Lances have already taken ship for Yunkai, and the Windblown and the Company of the Cat will follow once they have finished filling out their ranks. The Golden Company marches east as well. All this is known.”
“隨你怎么說，我經(jīng)營酒，不是戰(zhàn)爭。吉斯卡利酒是大家公認的劣酒。彌林人會為我的多恩佳釀付個好價錢的?！?/p>
“If you say so. I deal in wine, not wars. Ghiscari wine is poor stuff, all agree. The Meereenese will pay a good price for my fine Dornish vintages.”
“死人才不關心他們喝什么酒?！泵半U號的船長捻著胡須?！拔也皇呛湍愦蚪坏赖牡谝晃淮L，我想。也不是第十個?！?/p>
“Dead men do not care what kind of wine they drink.” The master of Adventure fingered his beard. “I am not the first captain you have approached, I think. Nor the tenth.”
“不是，”格里斯承認。
“No,” Gerris admitted.
“那么有多少？一百？”
“How many, then? A hundred?”
差不多了，昆廷想。瓦蘭提斯人喜歡夸口說布拉佛斯的百余列島可以全部沉沒在他們的深水港里。昆廷從未見過布拉佛斯，但他相信這個說法。富饒，成熟得已經(jīng)糜爛，瓦蘭提斯像一個溫暖濕潤的吻覆在洛恩河口上，沿著河兩岸的丘陵和濕地伸展著。到處都是船，順流而下或啟程出海，簇擁在泊位和碼頭邊，裝載或卸下貨物：戰(zhàn)船，捕鯨船和貿(mào)易用的駁船，寬身帆船和小艇，平底船，巨型平底船，長船，天鵝船，來自里斯，泰洛西和潘托斯的各種各樣的船，魁爾斯香料商的船大如宮殿，來自托洛斯，淵凱和蛇蜥群島。如此多的船，以至于昆廷從野云雀號的甲板上第一眼看到港口時，就告訴他的朋友們他們最多只在這逗留三天。
Close enough, thought Quentyn. The Volantenes were fond of boasting that the hundred isles of Braavos could be dropped into their deep harbor and drowned. Quentyn had never seen Braavos, but he could believe it. Rich and ripe and rotted, Volantis covered the mouth of the Rhoyne like a warm wet kiss, stretching across hill and marsh on both sides of the river. Ships were everywhere, coming down the river or headed out to sea, crowding the wharves and piers, taking on cargo or off-loading it: warships and whalers and trading galleys, carracks and skiffs, cogs, great cogs, longships, swan ships, ships from Lys and Tyrosh and Pentos, Qartheen spicers big as palaces, ships from Tolos and Yunkai and the Basilisks. So many that Quentyn, seeing the port for the first time from the deck of the Meadowlark, had told his friends that they would only linger here three days.
然而二十多天已經(jīng)過去了，他們還留在這，一直沒有船。梅蘭提尼號，三形之女號，美人魚之吻號都拒絕了他們。魯莽航海者號上的一個大副沖他著們的臉哈哈大笑。海豚號的船主斥責他們是在浪費他的時間，七子號的老板指控他們是海盜。這都是第一天發(fā)生的事情。
Yet twenty days had passed, and here they remained, still shipless. The captains of the Melantine, the Triarch’s Daughter, and the Mermaid’s Kiss had all refused them. A mate on the Bold Voyager had laughed in their faces. The master of the Dolphin berated them for wasting his time, and the owner of the Seventh Son accused them of being pirates. All on the first day.
只有小鹿號的船長給了他們拒絕的理由。“我的確是要向東航行，”他告訴他們，喝過摻了水的葡萄酒之后。“從南面繞過瓦雷利亞，然后一直向東。我們將在新吉斯補充淡水和給養(yǎng)，然后掉轉(zhuǎn)船頭駛向魁爾斯和玉門。每次航行都有危險，越遠就越危險。為什么我要轉(zhuǎn)向奴隸灣去冒更大的風險？小鹿號是我的謀生的家伙。我不會讓她冒險去載著三個瘋狂的多恩人進入到一個戰(zhàn)場當中?！?/p>
Only the captain of the Fawn had given them reasons for his refusal. “It is true that I am sailing east,” he told them, over watered wine. “South around Valyria and thence into the sunrise. We will take on water and provisions at New Ghis, then bend all oars toward Qarth and the Jade Gates. Every voyage has perils, long ones more than most. Why should I seek out more danger by turning into Slaver’s Bay? The Fawn is my livelihood. I will not risk her to take three mad Dornishmen into the middle of a war.”
昆廷開始考慮當初在板條鎮(zhèn)買條自己的船是否更好些。但那將引起不必要的注意。蜘蛛的告密者無處不在，甚至在陽戟城的大廳里。“如果你的目的被發(fā)現(xiàn)，多恩將會流血?！彼赣H曾警告過他，當他們看著孩子們在流水花園的水池和噴泉里嬉戲時。“我們是在謀反，不要犯錯誤。只相信你的同伴，并盡量避免引起注意。”
Quentyn had begun to think that they might have done better to buy their own ship in the Planky Town. That would have drawn unwanted attention, however. The Spider had informers everywhere, even in the halls of Sunspear. “Dorne will bleed if your purpose is discovered,” his father had warned him, as they watched the children frolic in the pools and fountains of the Water Gardens. “What we do is treason, make no mistake. Trust only your companions, and do your best to avoid attracting notice.”
格里斯·酌水給了冒險號船長他最令人安心的笑容?！罢f實話，我沒有數(shù)那些拒絕我們的懦夫，但在旅店里我聽說你是那種勇敢的人。那種為了足夠多的黃金敢冒任何風險的男人?！?/p>
So Gerris Drinkwater gave the captain of Adventure his most disarming smile. “Truth be told, I have not kept count of all the cowards who refused us, but at the Merchant’s House I heard it said that you were a bolder sort of man, the sort who might risk anything for sufficient gold.”
一個走私販子，昆廷想。這就是在旅店里別的商人對冒險號船長的稱呼。“他是個走私加奴隸販子，一半海盜一半皮條客，但他恐怕是你們最好的希望啦，”店主已經(jīng)告訴他們了。
A smuggler, Quentyn thought. That was how the other traders styled Adventure’s master, back at the Merchant’s House. “He is a smuggler and a slaver, half pirate and half pander, but it may be that he is your best hope,” the innkeep had told them.
船長捻著拇指和食指問道?！盀檫@樣一趟航行你認為多少金子算是足夠呢？”
The captain rubbed thumb and forefinger together. “And how much gold would you deem sufficient for such a voyage?”
“你平常去奴隸灣的三倍?！?/p>
“Thrice your usual fee for passage to Slaver’s Bay.”
“你們每個人？”船長露出他嘴里的牙齒，可能是打算作出一個微笑。不過那令他的窄臉看起來更兇狠了?！盎蛟S。我真的比大多數(shù)男人膽子更大。你想什么時候走？”
“For each of you?” The captain showed his teeth in something that might have been intended as a smile though it gave his narrow face a feral look. “Perhaps. It is true, I am a bolder man than most. How soon will you wish to leave?”
“明天就很好?！?/p>
“The morrow would not be too soon.”
“成交。天亮前一小時和你的朋友還有葡萄酒一起回來。最好在瓦蘭提斯還在沉睡時上路，那樣就沒人會來問我們?nèi)ツ倪@樣麻煩的的問題啦。”
“Done. Return an hour before first light, with your friends and your wines. Best to be under way whilst Volantis sleeps, so no one will ask us inconvenient questions about our destination.”
“說定了，天亮前一小時?！?/p>
“As you say. An hour before first light.”
船長笑得更開心了?！拔液芨吲d能幫上你們。我們會有一個愉快的旅程，對嗎？”
The captain’s smile widened. “I am pleased that I can help you. We will have a happy voyage, yes?”
“我對此確信不疑，”格里斯說。船長為他們叫來了麥酒，然后兩個人為他們的冒險干杯。
“I am certain of it,” said Gerris. The captain called for ale then, and the two of them drank a toast to their venture.
“一個甜蜜的家伙，”格里斯和昆廷走下碼頭之后說，他們雇的篷車在那等候著。天氣悶熱，陽光強烈，刺得他們都瞇起了雙眼。
“A sweet man,” Gerris said afterward, as he and Quentyn made their way down to the foot of the pier where their hired hathay waited. The air hung hot and heavy, and the sun was so bright that both of them were squinting.
“這是一個甜蜜的城市，”昆廷同意。甜的足以令你的牙齒爛掉。這附近長滿了甜菜，幾乎每道菜里都要添加它。瓦蘭提斯人用它們做了一道冷湯，黏稠濃厚的像紫蜂蜜一樣。他們這的酒也是甜的?！翱峙挛覀兊目鞓仿贸虝芏虝?。那個甜美的家伙沒打算帶我們?nèi)浟?。他答應下來的太快了。毫無疑問他會拿到三倍于平常的費用，只要我們一上船離開了陸地，他就會割開我們的喉嚨，拿走我們剩下的黃金?！?/p>
“This is a sweet city,” Quentyn agreed. Sweet enough to rot your teeth. Sweet beets were grown in profusion hereabouts, and were served with almost every meal. The Volantenes made a cold soup of them, as thick and rich as purple honey. Their wines were sweet as well. “I fear our happy voyage will be short, however. That sweet man does not mean to take us to Meereen. He was too quick to accept your offer. He’ll take thrice the usual fee, no doubt, and once he has us aboard and out of sight of land, he’ll slit our throats and take the rest of our gold as well.”
“或著把我們用鐵鏈拴某只槳上，在那些我們聞起來臭烘烘的家伙旁。我想我們需要找個好點的走私者啦?！?/p>
“Or chain us to an oar, beside those wretches we were smelling. We need to find a better class of smuggler, I think.”
他們的車夫在他的篷車旁等著他們。在維斯特洛，它可能被叫做牛車，盡管他它比昆廷在多恩曾見到過的任何車都裝飾的更加華麗，而且也不是牛拉的。篷車是由一只矮象拉著，她毛皮的顏色像是骯臟的積雪。在老瓦蘭提斯的大街上到處都是這種車。
Their driver awaited them beside his hathay. In Westeros, it might have been called an oxcart, though it was a deal more ornate than any cart that Quentyn had ever seen in Dorne, and lacked an ox. The hathay was pulled by a dwarf elephant, her hide the color of dirty snow. The streets of Old Volantis were full of such.
昆廷寧愿走路，但他們住的旅店離著有幾里遠。另外，店主警告過他，在當?shù)氐耐咛m提斯人和外國船長們的眼中，徒步旅行是有損名譽的。上等人乘轎出行，或坐在篷車的后座上 … 而且碰巧店主就有這么一位表親有著幾輛篷車，并且很樂于在這種事情上為他們提供服務。
Quentyn would have preferred to walk, but they were miles from their inn. Besides, the innkeep at the Merchant’s House had warned him that traveling afoot would taint them in the eyes of foreign captains and the native-born Volantenes alike. Persons of quality traveled by palanquin, or in the back of a hathay … and as it happened the innkeep had a cousin who owned several such contrivances and would be pleased to serve them in this matter.
他們的車夫是那位表親的一個奴隸，臉上紋著車輪的小個子男人，光著身子只圍著一塊腰布和穿著一雙涼鞋。他的皮膚是柚木的顏色，他的眼睛像燧石的碎片。當他幫助他們坐上篷車的兩個巨大木輪中間的軟椅之后，他爬上了矮象的后背。“旅店，”昆廷告訴他，“但沿著碼頭走?！背舜a頭和海濱外，瓦蘭提斯的大街小巷悶熱的足夠讓一個人淹死在自己的汗水里，至少在河的這一邊是如此。
Their driver was one of the cousin’s slaves, a small man with a wheel tattooed upon one cheek, naked but for a breechclout and a pair of sandals. His skin was the color of teak, his eyes chips of flint. After he had helped them up onto the cushioned bench between the cart’s two huge wooden wheels, he clambered onto the elephant’s back. “The Merchant’s House,” Quentyn told him, “but go along the wharves.” Beyond the waterfront and its breezes, the streets and alleys of Volantis were hot enough to drown a man in his own sweat, at least on this side of the river.
車夫用當?shù)卣Z言沖他的象喊了句什么。這頭野獸開始移動，鼻子從一邊搖到另一邊。車子在她身后顛簸前行，車夫一視同仁地沖著水手和奴隸叫喊，讓他們讓開道路。這兩者很容易區(qū)分。奴隸都有紋身：一個藍色羽毛面具，一道下巴劃到額頭的閃電，臉頰上的一枚硬幣，一頭豹子的斑點，一個骷髏頭，一只酒壺。凱德里學士說過在瓦蘭提斯每一個自由人都有五個奴隸，他他沒能活得足夠久來證實他的估計。在那個海盜們蜂擁而上地沖向野云雀號甲板的早晨，他死掉了。
The driver shouted something at his elephant in the local tongue. The beast began to move, trunk swaying from side to side. The cart lurched along behind her, the driver hooting at sailors and slaves alike to clear the way. It was easy enough to tell one from the other. The slaves were all tattooed: a mask of blue feathers, a lightning bolt that ran from jaw to brow, a coin upon the cheek, a leopard’s spots, a skull, a jug. Maester Kedry said there were five slaves for every free man in Volantis though he had not lived long enough to verify his estimate. He had perished on the morning the corsairs swarmed aboard the Meadowlark.
在那天昆廷還失去了兩位朋友——長著雀斑和參差不齊牙齒的威廉·威爾斯，手握長矛無所畏懼，和帶著慵懶眼神英俊的克萊圖斯·伊倫伍德，總是那么好色，總能帶來歡笑?？巳R圖斯曾是昆廷前半生中最親密的朋友，一個沒有血緣關系的親兄弟。“替我給你的新娘一個吻，”克萊圖斯小聲對他說，就在他臨死之前。
Quentyn lost two other friends that same day—Willam Wells with his freckles and his crooked teeth, fearless with a lance, and Cletus Yronwood, handsome despite his lazy eye, always randy, always laughing. Cletus had been Quentyn’s dearest friend for half his life, a brother in all but blood. “Give your bride a kiss for me,” Cletus had whispered to him, just before he died.
當野云雀號在爭議之地的海岸邊?？繒r，海盜們乘著黎明前的黑暗登上了船。船員們在付出十二條生命的代價之后擊退了他們。隨后水手們開始從死去的海盜身上剝下靴子，腰帶和武器，瓜分了他們錢財，從耳朵上掙下寶石，從手指上擼下戒指。其中有個家伙太胖了，為了取下他的戒指，船上的廚師不得不用一把剁肉刀切下了他的手指。用了三名船員才把這具尸體滾進海里。其他的海盜在他之后被拋下了海，沒有任何祈禱或者儀式。
The corsairs had come aboard in the darkness before the dawn, as the Meadowlark was anchored off the coast of the Disputed Lands. The crew had beaten them off, at the cost of twelve lives. Afterward the sailors stripped the dead corsairs of boots and belts and weapons, divvied up their purses, and yanked gemstones from their ears and rings from their fingers. One of the corpses was so fat that the ship’s cook had to cut his fingers off with a meat cleaver to claim his rings. It took three Meadowlarks to roll the body into the sea. The other pirates were chucked in after him, without a word of prayer or ceremony.
他們自己的死者受到了更認真的對待。水手們用帆布包起他們的軀體，綁上壓倉石以使他們可以沉得更快些。野云雀號的船長帶領他的船員們?yōu)樗廊サ幕锇閭兊撵`魂祈禱。然后他轉(zhuǎn)向他的多恩乘客們，在板條鎮(zhèn)登上他的船的六位乘客中的三位幸存者。就連“大人物”也露面了，雖然臉色蒼白，暈船，腳步搖晃，還是掙扎著從船艙深處爬上來表達他最后的敬意?！霸诎阉麄兘唤o大海之前，你們當中一位該為你們的死者說上幾句?！贝L說。格里斯有責任去說，但他不敢說出真相，他們是誰和他們?yōu)楹味鴣?，因此說的全篇都是謊言。
Their own dead received more tender treatment. The sailors sewed their bodies up in canvas, weighed down with ballast stones so they might sink more quickly. The captain of the Meadowlark led his crew in a prayer for the souls of their slain shipmates. Then he turned to his Dornish passengers, the three who still remained of the six who had come aboard at the Planky Town. Even the big man had emerged, pale and greensick and unsteady on his feet, struggling up from the depths of the ship’s hold to pay his last respects. “One of you should say some words for your dead, before we give them to the sea,” the captain said. Gerris had obliged, lying with every other word, since he dare not tell the truth of who they’d been or why they’d come.
他們不應當就這樣結束。“這將是一個可以講給我們的孫子們的傳奇，”格里斯在他們從他父親的城堡出發(fā)的那一天曾斷言。威爾斯對此做個鬼臉說，“你指的是一個講給酒館姑娘們故事吧，希望她們會為此掀起她們的裙子?！笨巳R圖斯拍了拍他的后背。“為了孫子，你需要兒子。為了兒子，你需要去掀起一些裙子?！彪S后，在板條鎮(zhèn)，這些多恩人向昆廷未來的新娘祝酒，對他將來的新婚之夜開些粗俗的玩笑，并談到他們將要看到的事情，他們要采取的行動，他們將贏取的榮耀。他們贏得的不過是一只裝滿壓倉石的帆布口袋。
It was not supposed to end like that for them. “This will be a tale to tell our grandchildren,” Cletus had declared the day they set out from his father’s castle. Will made a face at that, and said, “A tale to tell tavern wenches, you mean, in hopes they’ll lift their skirts.” Cletus had slapped him on the back. “For grandchildren, you need children. For children, you need to lift some skirts.” Later, in the Planky Town, the Dornishmen had toasted Quentyn’s future bride, made ribald japes about his wedding night to come, and talked about the things they’d see, the deeds they’d do, the glory they would win. All they won was a sailcloth sack filled with ballast stones.
同為威爾斯和克萊圖斯的哀悼比起來，學士的去世讓昆廷感覺最為難過。凱德里能流利地講自由城邦的所有語言，甚至奴隸灣沿岸混血吉斯人說的話。“凱德里學士將會陪伴你。”他父親在他們分別那天的晚上說?！奥爮乃闹腋?。他半生致力于研究九大自由城邦?！崩ネ⒉孪胫绻茉谶@里指導他們的話，事情是不是就不會這樣棘手了。
As much as he mourned Will and Cletus, it was the maester’s loss that Quentyn felt most keenly. Kedry had been fluent in the tongues of all of the Free Cities, and even the mongrel Ghiscari that men spoke along the shores of Slaver’s Bay. “Maester Kedry will accompany you,” his father said the night they parted. “Heed his counsel. He has devoted half his life to the study of the Nine Free Cities.” Quentyn wondered if things might not have gone a deal easier if only he were here to guide them.
“我愿為了一點微風賣掉老媽?！碑斔麄兇┻^碼頭周圍的人群時格里斯說?！斑@兒就潮得簡直像處女的陰道，而且還沒到中午呢。我恨這城市。”
“I would sell my mother for a bit of breeze,” said Gerris, as they rolled through the dockside throngs. “It’s moist as the Maiden’s cunt, and still shy of noon. I hate this city.”
昆廷心有同感。潮濕悶熱的瓦蘭提斯消耗掉了他的力氣，讓他覺得渾身難受。最糟糕的是就算是在晚上也得不到解脫。在伊倫伍德伯爵領地北部的高原上，不管白天天氣有多炎熱，天黑后空氣總是清新涼爽。不像這，在瓦蘭提斯，夜晚幾乎和白天一樣悶熱。
Quentyn shared the feeling. The sullen wet heat of Volantis sapped his strength and left him feeling dirty. The worst part was knowing that nightfall would bring no relief. Up in the high meadows north of Lord Yronwood’s estates, the air was always crisp and cool after dark, no matter how hot the day had been. Not here. In Volantis, the nights were almost as hot as the days.
“女神號明天啟航去新吉斯，”格里斯提醒他。“到那至少也能令我們更近些。”
“The Goddess sails for New Ghis on the morrow,” Gerris reminded him. “That at least would bring us closer.”
“新吉斯是一個島，港口比這要小的多的。我們是會更接近，但我們就會困在那了。而且新吉斯和淵凱結盟了?！边@消息沒讓昆廷感到驚訝，新吉斯和淵凱都是吉斯人的城市。“如果瓦蘭提斯人也和他們結盟的話——”
“New Ghis is an island, and a much smaller port than this. We would be closer, yes, but we could find ourselves stranded. And New Ghis has allied with the Yunkai’i.” That news had not come as a surprise to Quentyn. New Ghis and Yunkai were both Ghiscari cities. “If Volantis should ally with them as well—”
“我們需要找一條維斯特洛來的船，”格里斯建議，“蘭尼斯特或者舊鎮(zhèn)來的商船?！?/p>
“We need to find a ship from Westeros,” suggested Gerris, “some trader out of Lannisport or Oldtown.”
“很少會來這么遠，那些船用來自玉海的絲綢和香料裝滿他們的貨倉后就會掉頭回家?！?/p>
“Few come this far, and those who do fill their holds with silk and spice from the Jade Sea, then bend their oars for home.”
“或許布拉佛斯的船？據(jù)說海王能遠航到亞夏和玉海中的島嶼?！?/p>
“Perhaps a Braavosi ship? One hears of purple sails as far away as Asshai and the islands of the Jade Sea.”
“布拉佛斯人是逃掉的奴隸的后裔。他們不會在奴隸灣做買賣。”
“The Braavosi are descended from escaped slaves. They do not trade in Slaver’s Bay.”
“我們的金子夠買下一條船嗎？”
“Do we have enough gold to buy a ship?”
“那誰來駕駛她呢？你？還是我？”多恩人從來不是航海家，自從娜梅莉亞燒掉了她的一萬條船之后就再不是了?！巴呃桌麃喐浇暮Ｓ蚝芪ｋU，布滿了海盜?！?/p>
“And who will sail her? You? Me?” Dornishmen had never been seafarers, not since Nymeria burned her ten thousand ships. “The seas around Valyria are perilous, and thick with corsairs.”
“我已經(jīng)受夠了海盜。我們還是不要買船了。”
“I have had enough of corsairs. Let’s not buy a ship.”
這對他來說依舊不過是個游戲，昆廷意識到，和那次他帶領我們六個人深入群山去探尋禿鷹王的老巢沒什么不同。去設想他們可能會失敗不是格里斯·酌水的天性，更別提他們可能會死了?？雌饋砩踔寥齻€朋友的死亡也沒能對他產(chǎn)生絲毫影響。他把事情留給了我。他知道我的天性謹慎得如同他的魯莽。
This is still just a game to him, Quentyn realized, no different than the time he led six of us up into the mountains to find the old lair of the Vulture King. It was not in Gerris Drinkwater’s nature to imagine they might fail, let alone that they might die. Even the deaths of three friends had not served to chasten him, it would seem. He leaves that to me. He knows my nature is as cautious as his is bold.
“也許大人物是對的，”格里斯爵士說?！叭ニ鼖尩拇蠛?，我們能從陸上走完這段行程?！?/p>
“Perhaps the big man is right,” Ser Gerris said. “Piss on the sea, we can finish the journey overland.”
“你知道他為什么那么說，”昆廷說。“他寧死也不愿再踏上另一條船了?！痹谒麄兊穆贸讨校笕宋锩刻於荚跁灤?。在里斯，他花了四天的時間來恢復體力。他們不得不在客棧里要了房間以便凱德里學士把他塞進羽毛床上，為他端湯遞藥，直到一些血色回到他的臉頰。
“You know why he says that,” Quentyn said. “He’d rather die than set foot on another ship.” The big man had been greensick every day of their voyage. In Lys, it had taken him four days to recover his strength. They’d had to take rooms in an inn so Maester Kedry could tuck him into a feather bed and feed him broths and potions until some pink returned to his cheeks.
的確可以從陸上去彌林。古老的瓦雷利亞大道會帶他們到那里。龍之路，人們?nèi)绱朔Q呼這條自由城邦的偉大的石頭道路，但從瓦蘭提斯到彌林的這段道路，已經(jīng)贏得了一個更不祥的名稱：魔鬼之路。
It was possible to go overland to Meereen, that much was true. The old Valyrian roads would take them there. Dragon roads, men called the great stone roadways of the Freehold, but the one that ran eastward from Volantis to Meereen had earned a more sinister name: the demon road.
“走魔鬼之路危險而且太慢了?！崩ネ⒄f?！耙坏┡醯南鞯骄R，泰溫·蘭尼斯特就會派他自己的人去追趕女王。他父親確信這一點?！八麜е蹲觼怼Ｈ绻麄兿鹊降脑挕?/p>
“The demon road is dangerous, and too slow,” Quentyn said. “Tywin Lannister will send his own men after the queen once word of her reaches King’s Landing.” His father had been certain of that. “His will come with knives. If they reach her first—”
“讓我們期望她的龍會嗅出他們?nèi)缓蟀阉麄兂缘?，”格里斯說?！昂冒桑绻覀儾荒苷业揭粭l船，你又讓我們騎馬，那我們只好訂船票回多恩啦?！?/p>
“Let’s hope her dragons will sniff them out and eat them,” said Gerris. “Well, if we cannot find a ship, and you will not let us ride, we had as well book passage back to Dorne.”
像喪家之犬一樣爬回陽戟城？昆廷承受不了他父親的失望，沙蛇們的蔑視會令他無地自容。道朗·馬泰爾將多恩的命運放到了他的手里，他不能辜負他，只要還活著就不能。
Crawl back to Sunspear defeated, with my tail between my legs? His father’s disappointment would be more than Quentyn could bear, and the scorn of the Sand Snakes would be withering. Doran Martell had put the fate of Dorne into his hands, he could not fail him, not whilst life remained.
當篷車在包著鐵框的車輪上吱嘎作響地顛簸前行時，街上蒸騰的熱氣令他們對周圍產(chǎn)生了一種夢幻的感覺。在倉庫和碼頭之間，各種各樣的商店和攤位擠滿了海邊。在這里可以買到新鮮牡蠣，鐵鏈和手銬，象牙和玉石雕刻的“席瓦斯”棋子。這里也有神廟，水手們來此供奉異國的神靈，一家緊挨著一家的妓院，女人從陽臺上招喚下面的男人?！翱聪履且晃唬碑斔麄兘?jīng)過一家妓院時格里斯慫恿道。“我想她愛上了你。”
Heat shimmers rose off the street as the hathay rattled and jounced along on its iron-rimmed wheels, giving a dreamlike quality to their surroundings. In amongst the warehouses and the wharves, shops and stalls of many sorts crowded the waterfront. Here fresh oysters could be bought, here iron chains and manacles, here cyvasse pieces carved of ivory and jade. Here were temples too, where sailors came to sacrifice to foreign gods, cheek by jowl with pillow houses where women called down from balconies to men below. “Have a look at that one,” Gerris urged, as they passed one pillow house. “I think she’s in love with you.”
妓女的愛情值多少錢？說實話，昆廷渴求女孩，尤其是漂亮的。
And how much does a whore’s love cost? Truth be told, girls made Quentyn anxious, especially the pretty ones.
當他第一次來到伊倫伍德家便被伊倫伍德伯爵的長女，依妮絲迷住了。關于他的感受他從未透露一個字，他懷揣夢想好多年……直到她被許配給羅熱·艾利昂爵士的那一天，神恩城的繼承人。他最后一次見到她時，她懷抱這一個男孩，另一個正緊抓著她的裙子。
When first he’d come to Yronwood, he had been smitten with Ynys, the eldest of Lord Yronwood’s daughters. Though he never said a word about his feelings, he nursed his dreams for years … until the day she was dispatched to wed Ser Ryon Allyrion, the heir to Godsgrace. The last time he had seen her, she’d had one boy at her breast and another clinging to her skirts.
在依妮絲之后，是酌水家的雙胞胎，一對黃毛丫頭，喜愛放鷹打獵，攀巖和逗昆廷臉紅。她們中的一個給了他他的初吻，盡管他從不知道是哪一個。作為有產(chǎn)騎士的女兒，雙胞胎出身太微賤不能和他結婚，但克萊圖斯不認為有任何理由停止親吻她們?！澳愠苫橹竽憧梢园阉齻冎械囊粋€收為情婦。或者兩個都要，為什么不呢？”但昆廷想出了幾條不那么做得理由，所以他在那之后盡力避開了雙胞胎，再沒有了第二個吻了。
After Ynys had come the Drinkwater twins, a pair of tawny young maidens who loved hawking, hunting, climbing rocks, and making Quentyn blush. One of them had given him his first kiss, though he never knew which one. As daughters of a landed knight, the twins were too lowborn to marry, but Cletus did not think that was any reason to stop kissing them. “After you’re wed you can take one of them for a paramour. Or both, why not?” But Quentyn thought of several reasons why not, so he had done his best to avoid the twins thereafter, and there had been no second kiss.
最近，伊倫伍德伯爵的最小的女兒在城堡的各處尾隨著他。格溫妮絲才十二歲，一個又小又瘦的女孩，有著黑色的眼睛和棕色頭發(fā)，這讓她在金發(fā)碧眼的家人中顯得與眾不同。她很聰明，不過，說話很快而且手舞足蹈，還喜歡告訴昆廷：他不得不等她發(fā)育成熟，這樣她才能嫁給他。
More recently, the youngest of Lord Yronwood’s daughters had taken to following him about the castle. Gwyneth was but twelve, a small, scrawny girl whose dark eyes and brown hair set her apart in that house of blue-eyed blondes. She was clever, though, as quick with words as with her hands, and fond of telling Quentyn that he had to wait for her to flower, so she could marry him.
那是在道郎親王召喚他回流水花園之前的事了?，F(xiàn)在世上最美麗的女人正在彌林等著他，他打算盡自己的職責，要求她成為自己的新娘。她不會拒絕我。她會尊重協(xié)議的。丹妮莉絲·坦格利安需要多恩為她贏得七大王國，這意味著她會需要他。但這并不意味著她會愛我。 她甚至可能不喜歡我。
That was before Prince Doran had summoned him to the Water Gardens. And now the most beautiful woman in the world was waiting in Meereen, and he meant to do his duty and claim her for his bride. She will not refuse me. She will honor the agreement. Daenerys Targaryen would need Dorne to win the Seven Kingdoms, and that meant that she would need him. It does not mean that she will love me, though. She may not even like me.
在入?？谔幗值缽澇闪嘶⌒?，沿著彎道許多動物銷售商都聚集在一起，出售寶石蜥蜴、環(huán)紋巨蟒，有斑紋尾巴和靈巧的粉紅雙手的機靈的小猴子。“或許你的銀發(fā)女王喜歡一只猴子，”格里斯說。
The street curved where the river met the sea, and there along the bend a number of animal sellers were clustered together, offering jeweled lizards, giant banded snakes, and agile little monkeys with striped tails and clever pink hands. “Perhaps your silver queen would like a monkey,” said Gerris.
昆廷不清楚丹妮莉絲·坦格利安會喜歡什么。他曾經(jīng)對父親許諾他會把她帶回多恩，但他越來越懷疑他是否能勝任這項工作。
Quentyn had no idea what Daenerys Targaryen might like. He had promised his father that he would bring her back to Dorne, but more and more he wondered if he was equal to the task.
我從來沒有要求這個，他想。
I never asked for this, he thought.
隔著藍色寬廣的洛恩河，他能看到當初瓦雷利亞人所建造的黑墻，當時瓦蘭提斯只不過是他們帝國的一個前哨：一個巨大的橢圓形的熔巖石有二百尺高，而且厚得在其頂部可供六輛四馬戰(zhàn)車并排環(huán)繞追逐，正如他們每一年慶祝建城時所做的。外地人，外國人，自由民不許進入黑墻，除非有里面的居民邀請。那些居民的血統(tǒng)可以追溯到瓦雷利亞帝國本身。
Across the wide blue expanse of the Rhoyne, he could see the Black Wall that had been raised by the Valyrians when Volantis was no more than an outpost of their empire: a great oval of fused stone two hundred feet high and so thick that six four-horse chariots could race around its top abreast, as they did each year to celebrate the founding of the city. Outlanders, foreigners, and freedmen were not allowed inside the Black Wall save at the invitation of those who dwelt within, scions of the Old Blood who could trace their ancestry back to Valyria itself.
這里交通更加擁擠。他們在連接被分隔成兩半的城市的長橋最西端附近。板車，貨車和篷車擠滿了街道，所有人都從橋上來來往往。奴隸到處都是，像蟑螂一樣多，為了他們主人的事務四處亂竄。
The traffic was thicker here. They were near the western end of the Long Bridge, which linked the two halves of the city. Wayns and carts and hathays crowded the streets, all of them coming from the bridge or making for it. Slaves were everywhere, as numerous as roaches, scurrying about their masters’ business.
離魚販廣場和旅店不遠，從一個十字路口冒出了喧嘩聲，十來個無垢者的長矛手身穿華麗的盔甲和虎皮披風不知從哪兒冒了出來，揮手令眾人讓到一邊，以便祭司乘坐的大象可以通過。祭司的大象是一個灰色皮膚的龐然大物，覆蓋著精致的上釉的盔甲，隨著他的移動發(fā)出輕柔的嘩啦聲，它背上的象樓如此高大，以至于在從裝飾性的石頭拱門下面經(jīng)過時，它刮到了拱門的頂部?！凹浪颈徽J為如此尊貴，以至于在他們?nèi)温毜囊荒觊g不容許他們的腳接觸到地面?！崩ネ⒏嬖V他的同伴?！八麄兂俗笙笄巴魈?。”
Not far from Fishermonger’s Square and the Merchant’s House, shouts erupted from a cross street, and a dozen Unsullied spearmen in ornate armor and tiger-skin cloaks appeared as if from nowhere, waving everyone aside so the triarch could pass through atop his elephant. The triarch’s elephant was a grey-skinned behemoth clad in elaborate enameled armor that clattered softly as he moved, the castle on its back so tall that it scraped the top of the ornamental stone arch he was passing underneath. “The triarchs are considered so elevated that their feet are not allowed to touch the ground during their year of service,” Quentyn informed his companion. “They ride everywhere on elephants.”
“堵塞大街并且留下一堆糞便，讓我們這樣的人去承受?！备窭锼拐f。“為什么瓦蘭提斯人需要三位親王，而多恩一個就夠用，我永遠也不會知道?！?/p>
“Blocking up the streets and leaving heaps of dung for the likes of us to contend with,” said Gerris. “Why Volantis needs three princes when Dorne makes do with one, I will never know.”
“祭司們即不是國王也不是親王。瓦蘭提斯是一個自由城邦，像從前的瓦雷利亞。所有擁有土地的自由民共同管理。甚至女人也被容許投票，只要她擁有土地。三個祭司從證明有瓦雷利亞純凈血統(tǒng)的尊貴家族中挑選出來，服務到來年的元旦。如果你肯麻煩去讀凱德里學士給你的書，你會了解這一切的?！?/p>
“The triarchs are neither kings nor princes. Volantis is a freehold, like Valyria of old. All freeborn landholders share the rule. Even women are allowed to vote, provided they own land. The three triarchs are chosen from amongst those noble families who can prove unbroken descent from old Valyria, to serve until the first day of the new year. And you would know all this if you had troubled to read the book that Maester Kedry gave you.”
“它沒有插圖?！?/p>
“It had no pictures.”
“有地圖?！?/p>
“There were maps.”
“地圖不算數(shù)。如果他告訴我那是一本關于老虎和大象的書，我也許已經(jīng)試著讀它了。它看上去就像是本歷史書。”
“Maps do not count. If he had told me it was about tigers and elephants, I might have given it a try. It looked suspiciously like a history.”
當他們的篷車到達魚販廣場的邊沿時，他們的大象抬起她的鼻子，像是某種巨大的白鵝，發(fā)出鳴叫，不情愿地走進那一群板車，轎子，和前面洶涌的人流當中。他們的車夫用他的腳跟戳著她，催她繼續(xù)前行。
When their hathay reached the edge of the Fishermonger’s Square, their elephant lifted her trunk and made a honking noise like some huge white goose, reluctant to plunge into the tangle of wayns, palanquins, and foot traffic ahead. Their driver prodded her with his heel and kept her moving.
魚販子們賣力地吆喝著早上的捕獲。昆廷聽懂一個詞，最多兩個，但他不需要靠單詞來辨識魚。他看到鱈魚、旗魚、沙丁魚、幾桶貽貝和蛤蜊。一個攤位的前面掛著鰻魚。另一個陳列著一只巨大的烏龜，它的腿被鐵鏈串起來，像馬一樣重。螃蟹在裝有鹽水和海藻的木桶內(nèi)抓撓。幾個小販賣配上洋蔥和甜菜的油炸魚排，或出售小鐵桶燉的灑上胡椒的魚湯。
The fishmongers were out in strength, crying the morning catch. Quentyn understood one word in two at best, but he did not need to know the words to know the fish. He saw cod and sailfish and sardines, barrels of mussels and clams. Eels hung along the front of one stall. Another displayed a gigantic turtle, strung up by its legs on iron chains, heavy as a horse. Crabs scrabbled inside casks of brine and seaweed. Several of the vendors were frying chunks of fish with onions and beets, or selling peppery fish stew out of small iron kettles.
在廣場的中心，一座已經(jīng)開裂了無頭的某位故去的祭司雕像下，一群人聚集起來觀看一些侏儒的表演。小人兒穿上了木制盔甲，小型的騎士預備騎馬用長矛比武。昆廷看到一位騎上了一條狗，同時另一位跳上了一頭豬……不料又從右邊滑落下來，帶來了少許笑聲。
In the center of the square, under the cracked and headless statue of a dead triarch, a crowd had begun to gather about some dwarfs putting on a show. The little men were done up in wooden armor, miniature knights preparing for a joust. Quentyn saw one mount a dog, as the other hopped onto a pig … only to slide right off again, to a smattering of laughter.
“他們看起來挺可樂，”格里斯說?！拔覀兺Ｏ聛砜纯此麄兇蚣?？笑一笑可能對你有好處。昆廷。你看上去像個便秘了半年的老頭子?！?/p>
“They look amusing,” Gerris said. “Shall we stop and watch them fight? A laugh might serve you well, Quent. You look like an old man who has not moved his bowels in half a year.”
我才十八歲，比你還要年輕六歲，昆廷想。我可不是老頭子。然而他說出口的是，“我不需要滑稽侏儒。除非他們有條船?！?/p>
I am eight-and-ten, six years younger than you, Quentyn thought. I am no old man. Instead he said, “I have no need for comic dwarfs. Unless they have a ship.”
“一條小的，我覺得。”
“A small one, I would think.”
四層樓高的旅店聳立在港區(qū)，碼頭和貨棧環(huán)繞著它。在這里來自舊鎮(zhèn)和君臨的商人們混在來自布拉佛斯，潘托斯，密爾的同行當中，毛茸茸的伊班人，來自魁爾斯膚色蒼白的航海家，焦炭般漆黑的盛夏群島人披著羽毛披風，甚至還有來自陰影之地亞夏戴面具的縛影士。
Four stories tall, the Merchant’s House dominated the docks and wharves and storehouses that surrounded it. Here traders from Oldtown and King’s Landing mingled with their counterparts from Braavos and Pentos and Myr, with hairy Ibbenese, pale-skinned voyagers from Qarth, coal-black Summer Islanders in feathered cloaks, even masked shadow-binders from Asshai by the Shadow.
當昆廷從篷車上下來時，就算隔著皮靴他也能感受到腳下的石板的熱度。一張桌子支在旅館外面的陰影處，裝飾著藍白條紋的燕尾旗，隨風而擺。四名眼光嚴厲的傭兵懶散地圍坐在這張桌子旁，向每一個經(jīng)過的男人和男孩大聲喊叫。狂風團，昆廷知道。這些士官在他們?nèi)ネ`灣之前在尋找新人來補充他們的兵員。每一個和他們簽下合約的人，都是一把為淵凱戰(zhàn)斗的劍，對我未來的新娘而言，都意味著一把飲血的刀刃。
The paving stones felt warm beneath his feet when Quentyn climbed down from the hathay, even through the leather of his boots. Outside the Merchant’s House a trestle table had been set up in the shade and decorated with striped blue-and-white pennons that fluttered at every breath of air. Four hard-eyed sellswords lounged around the table, calling out to every passing man and boy. Windblown, Quentyn knew. The serjeants were looking for fresh meat to fill their ranks before they sailed for Slaver’s Bay. And every man who signs with them is another sword for Yunkai, another blade meant to drink the blood of my bride-to-be.
狂風團中的一位沖他們大喊?！拔也粫f你們的話，”昆廷回答道。盡管他能讀和寫高等瓦雷利亞語，但他很少練習講它。而且瓦蘭提斯的方言瓦雷利亞語也相差得很遠了。
One of the Windblown shouted at them. “I do not speak your tongue,” Quentyn answered. Though he could read and write High Valyrian, he had little practice speaking it. And the Volantene apple had rolled a fair distance from the Valyrian tree.
“維斯特洛人？”那個家伙用通用語回應?！岸喽魅?。我的主人是一位葡萄酒商。”
“Westerosi?” the man answered, in the Common Tongue.“Dornishmen. My master is a wineseller.”
“主人？去他媽的。你是個奴隸嗎？”跟我們來，做你自己的主人。 你想老死在床上嗎？我們將教你會用劍和矛。你將和爛衫王子一起騎馬戰(zhàn)斗，回家時比一個領主還要富有。男孩，女孩，黃金，無論你想要什么，如果你夠個男子漢就去奪取它。我們是狂風團，我們干女神，干爆她的菊花。
“Master? Fuck that. Are you a slave? Come with us and be your own master. Do you want to die abed? We’ll teach you sword and spear. You’ll ride to battle with the Tattered Prince and come home richer than a lord. Boys, girls, gold, whatever you want, if you’re man enough to take it. We’re the Windblown, and we fuck the goddess slaughter up her arse.”
兩位雇傭兵開始唱歌，吼出某支進行曲的歌詞。昆廷能聽出個大概。我們就是狂風團，他們唱。向東吹向奴隸灣，殺掉屠夫國王呀，再把真龍女王干。
Two of the sellswords began to sing, bellowing out the words to some marching song. Quentyn understood enough to get the gist. We are the Windblown, they sang. Blow us east to Slaver’s Bay, we’ll kill the butcher king and fuck the dragon queen.
“如果克萊圖斯和威爾斯還在的話，我們可以和大人物一起殺回來，干掉他們很多人。”格里斯說。
“If Cletus and Will were still with us, we could come back with the big man and kill the lot of them,” said Gerris.
克萊圖斯和威爾斯死了。“別理他們，”昆廷說。當他們擠過旅店的大門時，雇傭兵門對著他們的背影高聲嘲弄，嘲笑他們是沒有血性的懦夫和受到驚嚇的女孩。
Cletus and Will are dead. “Pay them no mind,” Quentyn said. The sellswords threw taunts at their backs as they pushed through the doors of the Merchant’s House, mocking them as bloodless cravens and frightened girls.
大人物在二樓他們的房間里等著。盡管客棧由野云雀號的船主推薦來的，這并不意味著昆廷放心讓他們的貨物和黃金無人看管。每個港口都有小偷，密探，和妓女，而瓦蘭提斯格外的多。
The big man was waiting in their rooms on the second floor. Though the inn had come well recommended by the master of the Meadowlark, that did not mean Quentyn was willing to leave their goods and gold unguarded. Every port had thieves, rats, and whores, and Volantis had more than most.
“我正要出去找你們，”阿奇巴爾德·伊倫伍德爵士說，他拉開門閂放他們進屋。是他的表弟克萊圖斯開始稱呼他為“大人物”的，但這個名字當之無愧。阿奇有六尺半高，寬闊的肩膀，巨大的肚子，像樹干一樣的大腿，和火腿大小差不多的手，可以說根本沒有脖子。童年時的某種疾病使他的頭發(fā)掉光了。他的禿頭使昆廷覺得像一塊光滑粉紅的卵石。“那么，”他問道，“走私者怎么說的？我們有條艇了嗎？”
“I was about to go out looking for you,” Ser Archibald Yronwood said as he slid the bar back to admit them. It was his cousin Cletus who had started calling him the big man, but the name was well deserved. Arch was six-and-a-half-feet tall, broad of shoulder, huge of belly, with legs like tree trunks, hands the size of hams, and no neck to speak of. Some childhood malady had made all his hair fall out. His bald head reminded Quentyn of a smooth pink boulder. “So,” he demanded, “what did the smuggler say? Do we have a boat?”
“是船，”昆廷糾正?！笆堑模麜覀冏?，但只到最近的地獄。”
“A ship,” corrected Quentyn. “Aye, he’ll take us, but only as far as the nearest hell.”
格里斯坐在一張塌陷的床上，脫下他的靴子?！皶r時刻刻多恩聽起來更具誘惑了?！?/p>
Gerris sat upon a sagging bed and pulled off his boots. “Dorne is sounding more attractive every moment.”
大人物說，“我還是要說，我們走魔鬼之路會更好。也許它不像人們說的那樣危險。就算是的話，敢于挑戰(zhàn)它也意味著更多的榮耀。誰敢惹我們？酌水的劍，和我的錘子，夠任何魔鬼受得了?！?/p>
The big man said, “I still say we would do better to ride the demon road. Might be it’s not as perilous as men say. And if it is, that only means more glory for those who dare it. Who would dare molest us? Drink with his sword, me with my hammer, that’s more than any demon could digest.”
“如果丹妮莉絲我們到達之前死掉了呢？”昆廷說?！拔覀儽仨氂幸凰掖?。就算它是冒險號?！?/p>
“And if Daenerys is dead before we reach her?” Quentyn said. “We must have a ship. Even if it is Adventure.”
格里斯笑了起來?！叭绻隳苋淌軒讉€月的那種惡臭，那你一定比我所知道的更渴望丹妮莉絲啦。三天后我就會求他們把我殺掉。不，我的王子，我求你，不要冒險號。”
Gerris laughed. “You must be more desperate for Daenerys than I knew if you’d endure that stench for months on end. After three days, I’d be begging them to murder me. No, my prince, I pray you, not Adventure.”
“你還有更好的法子？”昆廷問他?！拔矣?。就在剛才想到的。它有風險，而且我向你坦白，它不像你所說的那樣榮耀 … 但它能讓你更快地見到你的女王，比走魔鬼之路要快。
“Do you have a better way?” Quentyn asked him.“I do. It’s just now come to me. It has its risks, and it is not what you would call honorable, I grant you … but it will get you to your queen quicker than the demon road.”
“告訴我”，昆廷說道。
“Tell me,” said Quentyn Martell.
