Chapter 第三十九章 瓊恩（八）
JON
“他的名字叫旺·衛(wèi)格·旺·達爾·旺，Leathers告訴我的。很繞口的名字，我知道。Leathers叫他旺·旺，這樣似乎就好多了。”旺·旺幾乎不像老奶媽講的故事里的巨人，那些巨大的野蠻生物早餐都喝摻血的粥，能吞下整頭公牛，連毛發(fā)、牛皮和牛角都不剩。這個巨人根本不吃肉，盡管他也是個可怕的家伙，特別吃下一籃子樹根，把洋蔥、蕪菁甚至是生的硬蘿卜在他那方形巨齒下咬碎的時候?！八莻€忠實的工作者，雖然讓他理解你想要讓他干什么并不容易。他勉強能說古語（Old Tongue），但是對通用語一竅不通。然而，他不知疲倦，力氣也是無窮的。他能做一打人的工作?！?/p>
“His name is Wun Weg Wun Dar Wun, Leathers tells me. A lot to wrap a tongue around, I know. Leathers calls him Wun Wun, and that seems to serve.” Wun Wun was very little like the giants in Old Nan’s tales, those huge savage creatures who mixed blood into their morning porridge and devoured whole bulls, hair and hide and horns. This giant ate no meat at all, though he was a holy terror when served a basket of roots, crunching onions and turnips and even raw hard neeps between his big square teeth. “He’s a willing worker, though getting him to understand what you want is not always easy. He speaks the Old Tongue after a fashion, but nothing of the Common. Tireless, though, and his strength is prodigious. He could do the work of a dozen men.”
“我……大人，那人決不會……巨人吃人肉，我認為……不，大人，我感謝你，但是我不能讓我的人守著這樣一個生物，他……”
“I … my lord, the men would never … giants eat human flesh, I think … no, my lord, I thank you, but I do not have the men to watch over such a creature, he …”
瓊恩·雪諾并不吃驚?！叭缒闼?，我們會把巨人留在我這兒?！闭f實話，他也不舍得和旺·旺分開。你什么都不懂，瓊恩·雪諾，耶歌蕊特會說，但瓊恩只要有機會就和巨人說話——通過Leathers或是他們從鬼影森林帶回來的某個自由民——而且正在學(xué)習(xí)越來越多的關(guān)于自由民和他們的歷史。他只希望山姆能在這兒把這些故事記錄下來。
Jon Snow was unsurprised. “As you wish. We will keep the giant here.” Truth be told, he would have been loath to part with Wun Wun. You know nothing, Jon Snow, Ygritte might say, but Jon spoke with the giant whenever he could, through Leathers or one of the free folk they had brought back from the grove, and was learning much and more about his people and their history. He only wished that Sam were here to write the stories down.
這并不是說他對旺·旺所代表的危險視而不見。巨人在感受到威脅時會狂暴地擊打，而且那些巨大的手掌強壯得足以把人撕成兩半。他讓瓊恩想起阿多。阿多的兩倍高大，兩倍強壯，卻只有一半的聰明。這個想法甚至能讓賽勒達修士清醒。但是如果托蒙德的手下里有巨人，旺·衛(wèi)格·旺·達爾·旺可以幫我們對付他們。
That was not to say that he was blind to the danger Wun Wun represented. The giant would lash out violently when threatened, and those huge hands were strong enough to rip a man apart. He reminded Jon of Hodor. Hodor twice as big, twice as strong, and half as clever. There’s a thought to sober even Septon Cellador. But if Tormund has giants with him, Wun Weg Wun Dar Wun may help us treat with them.
當(dāng)門在他下面打開時，莫爾蒙的烏鴉正嘟噥著他的厭惡，這表明是‘憂郁的’艾迪回來了，帶著一大壺酒和一盤雞蛋和臘腸。艾迪的倒酒顯然讓波文·馬爾錫等的不耐煩，只等著他離開好繼續(xù)，“托勒特是個好人，而且討人喜歡。埃恩·伊梅特一直是個好警衛(wèi)官?！比缓笏f道，“然而，你的意思是把他們送走?！?/p>
Mormont’s raven muttered his annoyance as the door opened beneath him, heralding the return of Dolorous Edd with a flagon of wine and a plate of eggs and sausages. Bowen Marsh waited with obvious impatience as Edd poured, resuming only when he left again. “Tollett is a good man, and well liked, and Iron Emmett has been a fine master-at-arms,” he said then. “Yet the talk is that you mean to send them away.”
“我們需要好人在長墳堡（Long Barrow）?！?/p>
“We need good men at Long Barrow.”
“妓女的**，人們都這么稱呼它，”馬爾錫說，“但不管怎樣，你打算用這個野人Leathers取代伊梅特做我們的警衛(wèi)官，這是真的嗎？那個職位通常是為騎士保留的，或者至少是個游騎兵?！?/p>
“Whore’s Hole, the men have started calling it,” said Marsh, “but be that as it may. Is it true that you mean to replace Emmett with this savage Leathers as our master-at-arms? That is an office most oft reserved for knights, or rangers at the least.”
“Leathers是野人，”瓊恩溫和地表示贊同，“我可以向你證明。我在練習(xí)場和他試過招，他拿一把石斧都與大多數(shù)騎士用城堡鐵匠打造的精鋼劍一樣危險。我承認，他沒有我想要的耐心，而且有些男孩會懼怕他……但這也不全是壞事?？傆幸惶焖麄儠呱险嬲膽?zhàn)場，熟悉某種恐懼對他們有好處?！?/p>
“Leathers is savage,” Jon agreed mildly. “I can attest to that. I’ve tried him in the practice yard. He’s as dangerous with a stone axe as most knights are with castle-forged steel. I grant you, he is not as patient as I’d like, and some of the boys are terrified of him … but that’s not all for the bad. One day they’ll find themselves in a real fight, and a certain familiarity with terror will serve them well.”
“他是野人?！?/p>
“He’s a wildling.”
“是的，在他宣誓之前。現(xiàn)在他是我們的兄弟，他可以教授男孩們的不只是劍術(shù)，讓他們學(xué)習(xí)一些古語單詞和自由民的某些生活方式對他們沒有壞處。”
“He was, until he said the words. Now he is our brother. One who can teach the boys more than swordcraft. It would not hurt them to learn a few words of the Old Tongue and something of the ways of the free folk.”
“自由，”烏鴉抱怨，“玉米，國王?！?/p>
“Free,” the raven muttered. “Corn. King.”
“人們不信任他?！?/p>
“The men do not trust him.”
那些人？瓊恩可以問他，有多少？但是那只會引出他不想討論的話題。“我不想聽這個，還有別的事嗎？”
Which men? Jon might have asked. How many? But that would lead him down a road he did not mean to ride. “I am sorry to hear that. Is there more?”
賽勒達修士大聲說道，“有個男孩薩?。⊿atin），聽說你想讓他做你的事務(wù)官和侍從，代替托勒特。大人，那男孩是個妓女的……一個……恕我直言……一個來自舊鎮(zhèn)妓院的painted孌童?！?/p>
Septon Cellador spoke up. “This boy Satin. It’s said you mean to make him your steward and squire, in Tollett’s place. My lord, the boy’s a whore … a … dare I say … a painted catamite from the brothels of Oldtown.”
而你是個醉鬼?！八谂f鎮(zhèn)是什么身份不是我們關(guān)心的，他學(xué)東西很快而且很聰明。其他新兵開始的時候輕視他，但他贏得了他們的認同，并和他們所有人成為朋友。他在對戰(zhàn)中無所畏懼，甚至勉強能讀會寫。他應(yīng)該能勝任為我送餐和備馬，你不這么認為嗎？”
And you are a drunk. “What he was in Oldtown is none of our concern. He’s quick to learn and very clever. The other recruits started out despising him, but he won them over and made friends of them all. He’s fearless in a fight and can even read and write after a fashion. He should be capable of fetching me my meals and saddling my horse, don’t you think?”
“很有可能，”波文·馬爾錫板著面孔說，“但人們不喜歡這樣。按照傳統(tǒng)，司令官大人的侍從都是高貴出身的小伙子們，且為傳達命令受過專門訓(xùn)練。大人相信守夜人的弟兄們會追隨一個妓女之子投入戰(zhàn)斗嗎？”
“Most like,” said Bowen Marsh, stony-faced, “but the men do not like it. Traditionally the lord commander’s squires are lads of good birth being groomed for command. Does my lord believe the men of the Night’s Watch would ever follow a whore into battle?”
瓊恩的脾氣上來了，“他們追隨過更糟的。熊老為他的繼任者留下幾句關(guān)于這類人的忠告。我們在影子塔有一個廚子喜歡強奸修女，每占有一個他都在自己身體上烙印一個七角星。他的左臂從手腕到手肘都是星星，小腿上也是。在東海望，我們有個人點著了他父親的房子，然后鎖上門，他的整個家庭都被燒死，一共九人。無論薩丁在舊鎮(zhèn)做過什么，他現(xiàn)在是我們的兄弟，而且他將成為我的侍從?！?/p>
Jon’s temper flashed. “They have followed worse. The Old Bear left a few cautionary notes about certain of the men, for his successor. We have a cook at the Shadow Tower who was fond of raping septas. He burned a seven-pointed star into his flesh for every one he claimed. His left arm is stars from wrist to elbow, and stars mark his calves as well. At Eastwatch we have a man who set his father’s house afire and barred the door. His entire family burned to death, all nine. Whatever Satin may have done in Oldtown, he is our brother now, and he will be my squire.”
賽勒達修士喝了些酒，奧賽爾·亞威克用匕首切開一根臘腸，波文·馬爾錫面紅耳赤地坐在那兒。烏鴉閃動著翅膀喊，“玉米，玉米，殺死。”最后，總務(wù)長大人清了清喉嚨說，“司令大人知道怎么做最好，我確定。我可以問問關(guān)于冰牢里的那些尸體嗎？它們讓人們不安。是繼續(xù)讓人看守它們？當(dāng)然，那會浪費兩個好人，除非你擔(dān)心它們……”
Septon Cellador drank some wine. Othell Yarwyck stabbed a sausage with his dagger. Bowen Marsh sat red-faced. The raven flapped its wings and said, “Corn, corn, kill.” Finally the Lord Steward cleared his throat. “Your lordship knows best, I am sure. Might I ask about these corpses in the ice cells? They make the men uneasy. And to keep them under guard? Surely that is a waste of two good men, unless you fear that they …”
“……會站起來？我祈禱它們會?！?/p>
“… will rise? I pray they do.”
賽勒達修士臉色慘白，“七神救我們?！本扑樦南掳偷蜗乱坏兰t線，“司令大人，尸鬼都是怪物，不該存在的生物，眾神眼中的禁忌。你……你不能想著試圖去跟它們交談？”
Septon Cellador paled. “Seven save us.” Wine dribbled down his chin in a red line. “Lord Commander, wights are monstrous, unnatural creatures. Abominations before the eyes of the gods. You … you cannot mean to try to talk with them?”
“它們能交談？”瓊恩·雪諾問道，“我認為不會，但是我不能確定。它們或許是怪物，但它們死前也都是人。還剩下幾個？我殺死那個尸鬼時它正堅持要殺死莫爾蒙司令，很顯然，它記得自己是誰和哪能找到莫爾蒙大人?！币撩蓪W(xué)士會明白他的意圖，瓊恩不懷疑；山姆·塔利會感到害怕，但他也會理解?！拔业母赣H大人曾經(jīng)告訴過我：每個人都必須要了解他的敵人。我們對尸鬼了解很少，對異鬼則了解更少。我們需要去學(xué)習(xí)。”
“Can they talk?” asked Jon Snow. “I think not, but I cannot claim to know. Monsters they may be, but they were men before they died. How much remains? The one I slew was intent on killing Lord Commander Mormont. Plainly it remembered who he was and where to find him.” Maester Aemon would have grasped his purpose, Jon did not doubt; Sam Tarly would have been terrified, but he would have understood as well. “My lord father used to tell me that a man must know his enemies. We understand little of the wights and less about the Others. We need to learn.”
這個答案并不能讓他們滿意。賽勒達修士用手指摩挲著掛在脖子上的水晶項鏈說道，“我認為這是最不明智之舉，雪諾大人。我會向‘老嫗’祈禱舉起她的明燈為你照亮智慧之路。”
That answer did not please them. Septon Cellador fingered the crystal that hung about his neck and said, “I think this most unwise, Lord Snow. I shall pray to the Crone to lift her shining lamp and lead you down the path of wisdom.”
瓊恩·雪諾的耐心耗盡了?！拔覀兌夹枰嘁稽c兒智慧，我確定。”你什么都不懂，瓊恩·雪諾?！艾F(xiàn)在，咱們討論瓦邇好嗎？”
Jon Snow’s patience was exhausted. “We could all do with a bit more wisdom, I am sure.” You know nothing, Jon Snow. “Now, shall we speak of Val?”
“當(dāng)然，那么？”馬爾錫說，“你釋放了她?！?/p>
“It is true, then?” said Marsh. “You have released her.”
“到長城之外?！?/p>
“Beyond the Wall.”
賽勒達修士倒吸一口冷氣，“國王的戰(zhàn)利品，陛下發(fā)現(xiàn)她不見了會無比憤怒的?！?/p>
Septon Cellador sucked in his breath. “The king’s prize. His Grace will be most wroth to find her gone.”
“瓦邇會回來的?！壁s在史坦尼斯之前，如果諸神慈悲。
“Val will return.” Before Stannis, if the gods are good. 親王抓住輪椅的輪子，把自己推離桌子。“現(xiàn)在，請原諒我的退場，爵士。長篇談?wù)摿钗移＞?。我們會在明天第一縷晨光照下之時離開。奧芭婭，你能發(fā)發(fā)善心推我去睡房嗎？娜梅莉亞，特蕾妮，你們也一起來，給你們的老叔叔祝個晚安吧?！?/p>
“這你怎么能知道？”波文·馬爾錫詢問。
“How can you know that?” demanded Bowen Marsh.
“她說她會?！?/p>
“She said she would.”
“那如果她說謊呢？如果她遇到意外呢？”
“And if she lied? If she meets with misadventure?”
“為什么，那么，你們就有機會再選出一位你們喜歡的司令大人。在那之前，我恐怕你們?nèi)孕枰淌芪??！杯偠骱认乱豢邴溠烤疲拔遗伤フ摇奕藲⑹帧忻傻?，并帶給他我的提議?！?/p>
“Why, then, you may have a chance to choose a lord commander more to your liking. Until such time, I fear you’ll still need to suffer me.” Jon took a swallow of ale. “I sent her to find Tormund Giantsbane and bring him my offer.”
“如果容許我們知道的話，這份提議的內(nèi)容是？”
“If we may know, what offer is this?”
“與我在鼴鼠村做出的提議相同。食物、庇護所、和平，如果他能把他的兵力加入我們，同我們共同的敵人戰(zhàn)斗，幫助我們守護長城?！?/p>
“The same offer I made at Mole’s Town. Food and shelter and peace, if he will join his strength to ours, fight our common enemy, help us hold the Wall.”
波文·馬爾錫并沒有表現(xiàn)出驚訝，“你打算讓他通過長城?！彼穆曇舭凳舅恢敝来耸?，“為他和他的追隨者打開大門，數(shù)百、數(shù)千?！?/p>
Bowen Marsh did not appear surprised. “You mean to let him pass.” His voice suggested he had known all along. “To open the gates for him and his followers. Hundreds, thousands.”
“如果他還有那么多人的話?！?/p>
“If he has that many left.”
賽勒達修士劃了個星星的符號，奧賽爾·亞威克咕嚕一聲。波文·馬爾錫說，“有人可能稱之為叛國。這些是野人。野蠻人，侵襲者，強奸犯，更像是野獸而不是人?！?/p>
Septon Cellador made the sign of the star. Othell Yarwyck grunted. Bowen Marsh said, “Some might call this treason. These are wildlings. Savages, raiders, rapers, more beast than man.”
“托蒙德不是那些東西，”瓊恩說，“不會更甚于曼斯·雷德。但即使你說的每個詞都對，他們?nèi)匀皇侨?。波文，活人，像你我一樣的人類。凜冬將至，我的大人們，等冬天來臨，我們活人將需要站在一起對抗死人。”
“Tormund is none of those things,” said Jon, “no more than Mance Rayder. But even if every word you said was true, they are still men, Bowen. Living men, human as you and me. Winter is coming, my lords, and when it does, we living men will need to stand together against the dead.”
“雪諾，”莫爾蒙的烏鴉尖叫，“雪諾，雪諾?！?/p>
“Snow,” screamed Lord Mormont’s raven. “Snow, Snow.”
瓊恩不理睬它?！拔覀円恢痹趯弳栁覀儚墓碛吧謳Щ貋淼囊叭耍麄冎械膸讉€講述了一個有趣的故事，關(guān)于一個叫做‘鼴鼠之母’的森林女巫。”
Jon ignored him. “We have been questioning the wildlings we brought back from the grove. Several of them told an interesting tale, of a woods witch called Mother Mole.”
“‘鼴鼠之母’？”波文·馬爾錫說，“一個普通的名字?！?/p>
“Mother Mole?” said Bowen Marsh. “An unlikely name.”
“據(jù)說她把自己的家安在一棵空心樹下面的洞穴里。無論真相如何，她曾經(jīng)預(yù)見了一支船隊的到來運送自由民安全地穿越狹海。數(shù)千從戰(zhàn)斗中逃生的人在絕望之際選擇相信她?！B鼠之母’把他們都帶到了艱難堡，去那兒祈禱并等待來自狹海對面的拯救?！?/p>
“Supposedly she made her home in a burrow beneath a hollow tree. Whatever the truth of that, she had a vision of a fleet of ships arriving to carry the free folk to safety across the narrow sea. Thousands of those who fled the battle were desperate enough to believe her. Mother Mole has led them all to Hardhome, there to pray and await salvation from across the sea.”
奧賽爾·亞威克沉著臉，“我不是游騎兵，但……據(jù)說艱難堡是個不祥之地，被詛咒的地方。甚至你叔叔都那么說過，雪諾大人。他們?yōu)槭裁磿ツ莾?？?/p>
Othell Yarwyck scowled. “I’m no ranger, but … Hardhome is an unholy place, it’s said. Cursed. Even your uncle used to say as much, Lord Snow. Why would they go there?”
瓊恩面前的桌子上有一張地圖，他調(diào)轉(zhuǎn)它以便他們能看到?！捌D難堡坐落在一個隱蔽的海灣，還有天然的海港，水深足以漂浮最大的船。附近陸地上有豐富的木材和石頭，水域里富含魚類，近海還有成群的海豹和海牛。”
Jon had a map before him on the table. He turned it so they could see. “Hardhome sits on a sheltered bay and has a natural harbor deep enough for the biggest ships afloat. Wood and stone are plentiful near there. The waters teem with fish, and there are colonies of seals and sea cows close at hand.”
“這些都對，我不懷疑，”亞威克說，“但那是個我一晚都不愿住的地方，你知道那個傳說?！?/p>
“All that’s true, I don’t doubt,” said Yarwyck, “but it’s not a place I’d want to spend a night. You know the tale.”
他知道。艱難堡曾經(jīng)差半步就變成一個村鎮(zhèn)，長城以北唯一真正的村鎮(zhèn)，直到600年前地獄（莫非地獄不是場所，而是活物？）吞沒它的那個夜晚。村民被叼走成為奴隸或當(dāng)肉食屠殺殆盡——這取決于你相信哪個版本的傳說，他們的家園和廳堂在沖天大火中燃為灰燼，大火燃燒的如此熱烈，以至于遠在南方長城上的守夜人認為是太陽從北邊升起來了。之后，煙灰如雨般在鬼影森林和顫抖海降落幾乎長達半年之久。商販們回報說在艱難堡曾經(jīng)矗立的地方只能見到噩夢般的廢墟，到處是燒焦的樹木和骨頭，水里擠滿了腫脹的死尸，讓人毛骨悚然的尖叫聲回響在隱然聳立在settlement之上的巨大懸崖壁上坑坑洼洼的巖洞口。
He did. Hardhome had been halfway toward becoming a town, the only true town north of the Wall, until the night six hundred years ago when hell had swallowed it. Its people had been carried off into slavery or slaughtered for meat, depending on which version of the tale you believed, their homes and halls consumed in a conflagration that burned so hot that watchers on the Wall far to the south had thought the sun was rising in the north. Afterward ashes rained down on haunted forest and Shivering Sea alike for almost half a year. Traders reported finding only nightmarish devastation where Hardhome had stood, a landscape of charred trees and burned bones, waters choked with swollen corpses, blood-chilling shrieks echoing from the cave mouths that pocked the great cliff that loomed above the settlement.
自從那晚之后，時光匆匆來去已經(jīng)六個世紀(jì)，但艱難堡仍然讓人避之唯恐不及。野人們曾經(jīng)重建過艱難堡，有人告訴過瓊恩，但是游騎兵們聲稱雜草叢生的廢墟徘徊著食尸鬼、惡魔和張著嗜血大口的火靈?！拔乙膊粫x擇那種避難所，”瓊恩說，“但是聽說‘鼴鼠之母’布道說：自由民會在曾經(jīng)的地獄之地找到拯救?！?/p>
Six centuries had come and gone since that night, but Hardhome was still shunned. The wild had reclaimed the site, Jon had been told, but rangers claimed that the overgrown ruins were haunted by ghouls and demons and burning ghosts with an unhealthy taste for blood. “It is not the sort of refuge I’d choose either,” Jon said, “but Mother Mole was heard to preach that the free folk would find salvation where once they found damnation.”
賽勒達修士繃起嘴唇，“拯救只有通過祈求七神才能找到，這個女巫是送他們?nèi)肯碌鬲z?！?/p>
Septon Cellador pursed his lips. “Salvation can be found only through the Seven. This witch has doomed them all.”
“也是拯救了長城，或許，”波文·馬爾錫說，“這些是我們所說的敵人。讓他們在廢墟之中祈禱吧，如果他們的神派來船隊搭載他們?nèi)ジ玫氖澜?，那?dāng)然好。在這個世界，我沒有食物喂養(yǎng)他們?！?/p>
“And saved the Wall, mayhaps,” said Bowen Marsh. “These are enemies we speak of. Let them pray amongst the ruins, and if their gods send ships to carry them off to a better world, well and good. In this world I have no food to feed them.”
瓊恩活動一下握劍的手指，“卡特·派克的艦隊時常駛過艱難堡，他告訴我那里除了巖洞沒有庇護所。尖叫的巖洞，他的人這么稱呼它們?！B鼠之母’和那些跟隨她的人會死在那兒，死于嚴(yán)寒和饑餓。他們中的數(shù)百人，數(shù)千人?！?/p>
Jon flexed the fingers of his sword hand. “Cotter Pyke’s galleys sail past Hardhome from time to time. He tells me there is no shelter there but the caves. The screaming caves, his men call them. Mother Mole and those who followed her will perish there, of cold and starvation. Hundreds of them. Thousands.”
“數(shù)千的敵人，數(shù)千的野人?！?/p>
“Thousands of enemies. Thousands of wildlings.”
數(shù)千的人類，瓊恩想，男人、女人、孩童。他的怒火在體內(nèi)升騰，但當(dāng)他說出來時，聲音平靜冰冷。“你們這么盲目嗎？或者是你們不愿意睜開眼睛去看？等所有這些敵人都變成死人，你們認為會發(fā)生什么？”
Thousands of people, Jon thought. Men, women, children. Anger rose inside him, but when he spoke his voice was quiet and cold. “Are you so blind, or is it that you do not wish to see? What do you think will happen when all these enemies are dead?”
門上烏鴉抱怨，“死，死，死?！?/p>
Above the door the raven muttered, “Dead, dead, dead.”
“讓我來告訴你們會發(fā)生什么，”瓊恩說，“死人會再次站起，他們中的數(shù)百、數(shù)千。他們會成為尸鬼站起來，黑色的手淡藍的眼睛，然后將向我們襲來。”他站起身，握劍的手指開開合合，“你們都下去吧?！?/p>
“Let me tell you what will happen,” Jon said. “The dead will rise again, in their hundreds and their thousands. They will rise as wights, with black hands and pale blue eyes, and they will come for us.” He pushed himself to his feet, the fingers of his sword hand opening and closing. “You have my leave to go.”
賽勒達修士面色灰白滿頭大汗地站起來，奧賽爾·亞威克生硬地起身，波文·馬爾錫緊閉嘴巴面色蒼白?！爸x謝你的寶貴時間，雪諾大人?！彼麄冸x開，再沒說一句話。
Septon Cellador rose grey-faced and sweating, Othell Yarwyck stiffly, Bowen Marsh tight-lipped and pale. “Thank you for your time, Lord Snow.” They left without another word.
