In a minor but respectable plaza in the Imperial City sat, or perhaps lounged, Lord Vanech's Building Commission. It was an unimaginative, austere building not noted so much for its aesthetic or architectural design as for its prodigious length. If any critics wondered why such an unornamented, extended erection held such fascination for Lord Vanech, they kept it to themselves.

在Imperial Ｃity的一個(gè)出名的廣場上坐落著或者叫橫著一座與它的巨大的體積完全不相稱的保守平淡無奇的建筑風(fēng)格的建筑Lord Vanech's Commission.如果任何人得知如此毫無特色的平庸的建筑是Lord Vanech的風(fēng)格的話，他們就不會(huì)質(zhì)疑了。

In the 398th year of the 3rd Era, Decumus Scotti was a senior clerk at the Commission.

在第三紀(jì)元第398年，Decumus Scotti 是委員會(huì)的一個(gè)資深辦事員。

It had been a few months since the shy, middle-aged man had brought Lord Vanech the most lucrative of all contracts, granting the Commission the exclusive right to rebuild the roads of Valenwood which had been destroyed in the Five Year War. For this, he had become the darling of the managers and the clerks, spending his days recounting his adventures, more or less faithfully... although he did omit the ending of the tale, since many of them had partaken in the celebratory Unthrappa roast provided by the Silenstri. Informing one's listeners that they've gorged on human flesh improves very few stories of any good taste.

一切都發(fā)生自幾個(gè)月前，這個(gè)有點(diǎn)內(nèi)斂的中年男人為委員會(huì)帶來了一個(gè)最有價(jià)值的合同，一份授予委員會(huì)獨(dú)家授權(quán)重修因5年戰(zhàn)爭而毀掉的Valenwood省的馬路。因?yàn)檫@個(gè)他成了委員會(huì)里面的紅人，整天講訴著他的冒險(xiǎn)奇事軼聞，當(dāng)然大部分的都是真的。。。雖然在最后有點(diǎn)省略，這都是自從Silenstri為了慶祝Unthrappa舉辦的燒烤晚會(huì)，當(dāng)大部分人都在大快朵頤的時(shí)候有人提醒大家他們吃的是人類的肉，這個(gè)故事也無助于大家的食欲了。

Scotti was neither particularly ambitious nor hard-working, so he did not mind that Lord Vanech had not given him anything to actually do.

Scotti不是那種有野心的人也不是那種工作狂人，所以他也不會(huì)介意Load Vanech會(huì)給他一些其他更重要的工作。

Whenever the squat little gnomish man would happen upon Decumus Scotti in the offices, Lord Vanech would always say, "You're a credit to the Commission. Keep up the good work."

無論何時(shí)只要這個(gè)矮小的侏儒Lord Vanech看到Scotti就總會(huì)說：“你是我們委員會(huì)的驕傲，繼續(xù)努力吧”。

In the beginning, Scotti had worried that he was supposed to be doing something, but as the months went on, he merely replied, "Thank you. I will."

最開始Scotti還會(huì)擔(dān)心他會(huì)不會(huì)讓自己去干點(diǎn)什么，幾個(gè)月過去了，他仍然也只是回答道：“謝謝，我會(huì)的”。

There was, on the other hand, the future to consider. He was not a young man, and though he was receiving a respectable salary for someone not doing actual work, Scotti considered that soon he might have to retire and not get paid for not doing work. It would be nice, he decided, if Lord Vanech, out of gratitude for the millions of gold the Valenwood contract was generating, might deign to make Scotti a partner. Or at least give him a small percentage of the bounty.

另一方面，他又考慮到未來。相對于年輕人來說，他的工資很優(yōu)厚，但他已不再年輕，不久后會(huì)退休。他思考著讓Lord Vanech因這個(gè)百萬金幣進(jìn)賬的項(xiàng)目而提拔他為合伙人，或者最少也應(yīng)該要給他一筆獎(jiǎng)金的這個(gè)想法應(yīng)該會(huì)很不錯(cuò)。

Decumus Scotti was no good at asking for things like that, which was one of the reasons why, previous to his signal successes in Valenwood as a senior clerk for Lord Atrius, he was a lousy agent. He had just about made up his mind to say something to Lord Vanech, when his lordship unexpectedly pushed things along.

Scotti不是很擅長這種求人的事情，其中一個(gè)原因是當(dāng)他還是Lord Atrius手下的資深辦事員的時(shí)候，他工作確實(shí)很糟糕。當(dāng)他做好決定要對Lord Vanech說點(diǎn)什么的時(shí)候，出人意料的是他的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)先開口了。

"You're a credit to the Commission," the waddling little thing said, and then paused. "Do you have a moment free on your schedule?"

“你是我們委員會(huì)的驕傲”這個(gè)蹣跚的小個(gè)子說道，又頓了下說：“你有空嗎？”

Scotti nodded eagerly, and followed his lordship to his hideously decorated and very enviable hectare of office space.

Scotti認(rèn)真地點(diǎn)點(diǎn)頭，然后跟著他的主人來到他那毫無美感裝潢的而又巨大的辦公室。

"Zenithar blesses us for your presence at the Commission," the little fellow squeaked grandly. "I don't know whether you know this, but we were having a bad time before you came along. We had impressive projects, for certain, but they were not successful. In Black Marsh, for example, for years we've been trying to improve the roads and other routes of travel for commerce. I put my best man, Flesus Tijjo, on it, but every year, despite staggering investments of time and money, the trade along those routes only gets slower and slower. Now, we have your very clean, very, very profitable Valenwood contract to boost the Commission's profits. I think it's time you were rewarded."

“Zenithar保佑我們有你的存在！”小個(gè)子發(fā)出洪亮的聲音：“我不知道你是否了解，在你搞定那個(gè)合同之前我們經(jīng)歷了一個(gè)難熬的時(shí)期，我們曾經(jīng)有許多令人印象深刻的大的項(xiàng)目，是的，但都不是很成功。舉個(gè)例子在Black Marsh，這些年來我們一直在努力修路和開發(fā)旅游線路，我把我最好的員工Flesus Tijjo派到那里，每年花費(fèi)了無數(shù)精力和財(cái)力，可是到現(xiàn)在越來越難以維系。現(xiàn)在正因?yàn)槟愕倪@個(gè)有價(jià)值的Valenwood合同，才讓我們委員會(huì)得以盈利，我想現(xiàn)在是你得到回報(bào)的時(shí)刻啦?！?/p>

Scotti grinned a grin of great modesty and subtle avarice.

Scotti 露出了謙虛而又有一絲貪婪的微笑。

"I want you to take over the Black Marsh account from Flesus Tijjo."

“我想讓你代替Flesus Tijjo在Black Marshash的職位?！?/p>

Scotti shook as if awaking from a pleasant dream to hideous reality, "My Lord, I - I couldn't -"

Scotti 像是突然從美夢中回到了殘酷的現(xiàn)實(shí)中般的一驚“我的主人，我不能-”

"Nonsense," chirped Lord Vanech. "Don't worry about Tijjo. He will be happy to retire on the money I give him, particularly as soul-wrenchingly difficult as this Black Marsh business has been. Just your sort of a challenge, my dear Decumus."

“沒關(guān)系，”Lord Vanech 吱聲道：“不要擔(dān)心Tijjo，他會(huì)很高興的得到一筆錢退休的，作為是這個(gè)讓人痛苦不堪的Black Marsh生意的回報(bào)。而對你來說，這只是一個(gè)挑戰(zhàn)而已，親愛的Decumus?！?/p>

Scotti couldn't utter a sound, though his mouth feebly formed the word "No" as Lord Vanech brought out the box of documentation on Black Marsh.

Scotti的嘴都擺成說不得口型了，還沒等機(jī)會(huì)說不，一大箱裝有Black Marsh的文件就擺在他的面前。

"You're a fast reader," Lord Vanech guessed. "You can read it all en route."

“你看書很快”Lord Vanech 說到“你在路上都能看完?！?/p>

"En route to ..."

”到。。。？“

"Black Marsh, of course," the tiny fellow giggled. "You are a funny chap. Where else would you go to learn about the work that's being done, and how to improve it?"

“當(dāng)然是到Black Marsh”，他說到“你在逗我嗎，除了那里還有哪兒能學(xué)習(xí)研究你要做的工作？”

The next morning, the stack of documentation hardly touched, Decumus Scotti began the journey south-east to Black Marsh. Lord Vanech had hired an able-bodied guard, a rather taciturn Redguard named Mailic, to protect his best agent. They rode south along the Niben, and then south-east along the Silverfish, continuing on into the wilds of Cyrodiil, where the river tributaries had no names and the very vegetation seemed to come from another world than the nice, civilized gardens of the northern Imperial Province.

第二天早上，一堆資料安放妥當(dāng)，Scotti開始他的旅程一路向東南方向出發(fā)。Load Vanech 雇了一個(gè)保鏢。一個(gè)沉默寡言的Redguard人叫Mailic來保護(hù)他的最好的員工。他們先是往南方到達(dá)Niben，然后往東南方向到達(dá)Silverfish，然后走入Cyrodiil的郊區(qū)，那里有許多不知名的小溪流，周圍的植被和Imperial北部地區(qū)花園里面的植物比起來就像是進(jìn)入了另一個(gè)世界。

Scotti's horse was tied to Mailic's, so the clerk was able to read. It made it difficult to pay attention to the path they were taking, but Scotti knew he needed at least a cursory familiarity with the Commission's business dealings in Black Marsh.

Scotti的馬系在Maililc的馬上，方便他可以閱讀文檔，雖然在那種路面很難把注意力集中到文本上，但他知道至少在這期間他必須對Black Marsh的工作有個(gè)大概的了解。

It was a huge box of paperwork going back forty years, when the Commission had first been given several million in gold by a wealthy trader, Lord Xellicles Pinos-Revina, to improve the condition of the road from Gideon to Cyrodiil. At that time, it took three weeks, a preposterously long time, for the rice and root he was importing to arrive, half-rotten, in the Imperial Province. Pinos-Revina was long dead, but many other investors over the decades, including Pelagius Septim V himself, had hired the Commission to build roads, drain swamps, construct bridges, devise anti-smuggling systems, hire mercenaries, and, in short, do everything that the greatest Empire in history knew would work to aid trade with Black Marsh. According to the latest figures, the result of this was that it took two and a half months for goods, now thoroughly rotten, to arrive.

從委員會(huì)第一次投入上百萬金幣開始這個(gè)交易以來過了40多年累積了好大一箱資料。在Lord Xellicles Pinos-Revina那時(shí)起就在維修從Gideon 到Cyrodiil的道路，在那個(gè)時(shí)候大米運(yùn)輸?shù)降竭_(dá)Imperial省要花費(fèi)3周的時(shí)間，至少一半都已經(jīng)發(fā)霉變質(zhì)了。Lord Pinos-Revian死后數(shù)十年間許多人也在投資修建道路，包括Pelagius Septim V他自己，抽干沼澤地，修建橋梁，建立反走私系統(tǒng)，招募雇傭兵，總之從以前的歷史上也找了很多辦法來幫助開展到Black Marsh的貿(mào)易活動(dòng)，從最近的反饋來看，運(yùn)輸時(shí)間延長到了至少要2個(gè)半月，大部分的糧食等都發(fā)霉腐敗了。

Scotti found that when he looked up after concentrating on what he was reading, the landscape had always changed. Always dramatically. Always for the worse.

當(dāng)Scotti把注意力從他的文件中移開后，他發(fā)現(xiàn)周圍的景色越來越變幻莫測，越來越陰森。

"This is Blackwood, sir," said Mailic to Scotti's unspoken question. It was dark and woodsy, so Decumus Scotti thought that a very appropriate name.

“這里就是Blackwood，先生?！?在Scotti還在疑惑的時(shí)候Mailic適時(shí)的說到，Scotti覺得這個(gè)名字配這里的陰暗蔭蔽的環(huán)境真是太合適了。

The question he longed to ask, which in due course he did ask, was, "What's that terrible smell?"

“到底是什么味兒??？”這個(gè)問題他憋了很久后終于開口了。

"Slough Point, sir," Mailic replied as they turned the next bend, where the umbrageous tunnel of tangled tree and vine opened to a clearing. There squatted a cluster of formal buildings in the dreary Imperial design favored by Lord Vanech's Commission and every Emperor since Tiber, together with a stench so eye-blindingly, stomach-wrenchingly awful that Scotti wondered, suddenly, if it were deadly poisonous. The swarms of blood-colored, sand-grain-sized insects obscuring the air did not improve the view.

“Slough Point到了，先生” Mailic說完后他們沿著由一大片相互纏繞的樹枝和藤條的小道拐了一個(gè)彎走到了一片空地上 ，那里坐落著從Tiber時(shí)代起就修建在那里的一看就知道是出自Lord Vanech的風(fēng)格的丑陋建筑，讓人感覺心里十分厭惡，就像是有毒的氣味一樣，刺激的睜不開雙眼，惡心肚子疼。就連血色的沼澤和漫天的沙礫大小的昆蟲都不能和這里媲美。

Scotti and Mailic batted at the buzzing clouds as they rode their horses towards the largest of the buildings, which on approach revealed itself to be perched at the edge of a thick, black river. From its size and serious aspect, Scotti guessed it to be the census and excise office for the wide, white bridge that stretched across the burbling dark water to the reeds on the other side. It was a very nice, bright, sturdy-looking bridge, built, Scotti knew, by his Commission.

Scotti 和Mailic 一邊驅(qū)趕漫天的飛蟲一邊讓他們的馬朝著最大的建筑物走去。那座建筑就矗立一個(gè)又黑又稠的河面邊上和河水相見一色。從它的嚴(yán)肅的樣子和體積來說，Scotti猜測可能是人口普查和稅務(wù)局辦公室之類的，一座白色的橋從黝黑的河水中延伸到蘆葦叢生的另一端，從這個(gè)橋的風(fēng)格來看也是出自委員會(huì)之手。

A poxy, irritable official opened the door quickly on Scotti's first knock. "Come in, come in, quickly! Don't let the fleshflies in!"

一個(gè)一臉嫌棄表情的官員在他剛敲了第一下的時(shí)候就把門打開了?！翱禳c(diǎn)進(jìn)來，不要讓FLeshflies進(jìn)來！”

"Fleshflies?" Decumus Scotti trembled. "You mean, they eat human flesh?"

“Fleshflies？”Scotti 嚇了一跳。“你是說他們要吃人肉？”

"If you're fool enough to stand around and let them," the soldier said, rolling his eyes. He had half an ear, and Scotti, looking around at the other soldiers in the fort noted that they all were well-chewed. One of them had no nose at all to speak of. "Now, what's your business?"

“如果你傻到站在野外一動(dòng)不動(dòng)讓他們下口的話?！蹦莻€(gè)士兵轉(zhuǎn)著眼珠說到。他只有一半的耳朵，Scotti看了看四周其他的士兵也有不同程度的受傷被咬過痕跡，他們中的一個(gè)幾乎可以說沒有鼻子的家伙說到：“你們到這里來干什么？”

Scotti told them, and added that if they stood outside the fortress instead of inside, they might catch more smugglers.

Scotti 告訴了他們，又說他們應(yīng)該在外面執(zhí)勤而不是在城堡里面呆著。

"You better be more concerned with getting across that bridge," the soldier sneered. "Tide's coming up, and if you don't get a move on, you won't get to Black Marsh for four days."

那個(gè)士兵譏笑道：“你最好把注意力放在過橋上，馬上潮汐就要來了，如果你沒有動(dòng)身的話，你至少要推遲4天到達(dá)Black Marsh。”

That was absurd. A bridge swamped by a rising tide on a river? Only the look in the soldier's eyes told Scotti he wasn't joking.

那簡直太荒謬了，一座大橋居然會(huì)被漲潮淹沒？只是他看著那個(gè)士兵的眼睛才確信他沒有撒謊。

Upon stepping out of the fort, he saw that the horses, evidently tired of being tortured by the fleshflies, had ripped free of their restraints and were bounding off into the woods. The oily water of the river was already lapping on the planks, oozing between the crevices. Scotti reflected that perhaps he would be more than willing to endure a wait of four days before going to Black Marsh, but Mailic was already running across.

走出那座建筑，他看到他的馬們因?yàn)椴豢叭淌躥leshflies的折磨，掙斷了韁繩跑進(jìn)了黑深林中。油膩的河水已經(jīng)上漲到橋面木板上了，通過縫隙不斷涌入。Scotti覺得他可能要在這里多呆幾日了，但是Mailic已經(jīng)沖了出去。

Scotti followed him, wheezing. He was not in excellent shape, and never had been. The box of Commission materials was heavy. Halfway across, he paused to catch his breath, and then discovered he could not move. His feet were stuck.

Scotti氣喘吁吁地跟著他，他不是那種好身材的人，從來也沒有過。那箱委員會(huì)文件又很沉，跑了一半他就喘不過氣來，停下來休息，但卻發(fā)現(xiàn)他已經(jīng)動(dòng)不了了，他被困住了。

The black mud that ran through the river was a thick gluey paste, and having washed over the plank Scotti was on, it held his feet fast. Panic seized him. Scotti looked up from his trap and saw Mailic leaping from plank to plank ahead of him, closing fast on the reeds on the other side.

黑色的粘稠的淤泥通過河水沖刷著地板，很快就把他的腳困住了。他感到很恐懼，他抬頭看了看，Mailic正一蹦一跳的從地板間穿過，就快要到達(dá)了對面的蘆葦群中。

"Help!" Scotti cried. "I'm stuck!"

“救我！”Scotti 叫喊到：“我被困住了！”

Mailic did not even turn around, but kept jumping. "I know, sir. You need to lose weight."

Mailic 都沒有停下來，甚至轉(zhuǎn)過身來?！拔抑懒?，先生，你要減輕重量才行！”

Decumus Scotti knew he was a few pounds over, and had meant to start eating less and exercising more, but embarking on a diet hardly seemed to promise timely aid in his current predicament. No diet on Nirn would have helped him just then. However, on reflection, Scotti realized that the Redguard intended that he drop the box of documents, for Mailic was no longer carrying any of the essential supplies he had had with him previously.

Scotti 知道他體重有點(diǎn)超重，也開始在注意講究飲食和鍛煉，但是現(xiàn)在的情況下他也無法短時(shí)間內(nèi)減輕體重啊。進(jìn)過思索，他覺得Mailic 說的可能是讓他丟掉這包文件，因?yàn)樗匆奙ailic也都丟棄了他的包含生活必需品的包裹。

With a sigh, Scotti threw the box of Commission notes into the glop, and felt the plank under him rise a quarter of an inch, just enough to free him from the mud's clutches. With an agility born of extreme fear, Scotti began leaping after Mailic, dropping onto every third plank, and springing up before the river gripped him.

Scotti長嘆一聲，把這箱文件丟進(jìn)黏乎乎的河水中，這時(shí)他感覺到木板升高了一些，足夠他擺脫淤泥，他鼓起勇氣開始學(xué)著Mailic的樣子每三個(gè)木板跳一次，躲開那些淤泥。

In forty-six leaps, Decumus Scotti crashed through the reeds onto the solid ground behind Mailic, and found himself in Black Marsh. He could hear behind him a slurping sound as the bridge, and his container of important and official records of Commission affairs, was consumed by the rising flood of dark filth, never to be seen again.

終于在第46跳后，Scotti 沖進(jìn)了蘆葦堆，撲在了結(jié)實(shí)的地面上，終于到了Black Marsh的地盤。他都可以聽到身后橋被淹沒的身影，而他的那些重要文件也被吞噬了再也無法找到。