Chapter 第十四章 提利昂

TYRION

很长时间，他都没有翻身，只是一动不动的躺在当做床的旧麻袋上，听着呼啸而过的风声和浪一下下拍在船舷上的声音。

For a long while he did not stir, but lay unmoving upon the heap of old sacks that served him for a bed, listening to the wind in the lines, to the lapping of the river at the hull.

满月挂在桅杆上方，它跟着我顺流而下，像只巨眼一样监视着我。尽管有温暖的破兽皮盖着，但是小个子的男人还是一阵颤栗。我需要一杯葡萄酒，许多杯葡萄酒。但是在那个婊子养的格里夫扑灭他的干渴的火焰前，月亮眨了眨眼。非但没水喝，相反，他被惩罚以失眠的夜晚和挥汗如雨与摇摆不定的白昼。

A full moon floated above the mast. It is following me downriver, watching me like some great eye. Despite the warmth of the musty skins that covered him, a shiver went through the little man. I need a cup of wine. A dozen cups of wine. But the moon would blink before that whoreson Griff let him quench his thirst. Instead he drank water, and was condemned to sleepless nights and days of sweats and shakes.

侏儒起身，用手托着脑袋。我刚才是在做梦么？刚才的一切记忆都消退了。夜晚对提利昂·兰尼斯特从不仁慈。即使在柔软的羽毛床垫上他也睡不好。在害羞小姐号上，他在船舱顶上铺床，用一卷麻绳做了个枕头。比起船舱的狭窄，他更喜欢这里。这里的空气更清新，水流的声音也比鸭子的鼾声悦耳的多。但是这也是有代价的，仓顶很硬，当他醒来时总是浑身僵硬酸痛，双腿又痉挛的疼痛难忍。

The dwarf sat up, cradling his head in his hands. Did I dream? All memory of it had fled. The nights had never been kind to Tyrion Lannister. He slept badly even on soft feather beds. On the Shy Maid, he made his bed atop the roof of the cabin, with a coil of hempen rope for a pillow. He liked it better up here than in the boat’s cramped hold. The air was fresher, and the river sounds were sweeter than Duck’s snoring. There was a price to be paid for such joys, though; the deck was hard, and he woke stiff and sore, his legs cramped and aching.

它们现在又在抽搐了，他的小腿变得向木头似的僵硬。他用手指揉搓着它们，想把那些疼痛搓走，但是当他站起来是那痛楚依然扭曲了他的脸。我得洗个澡，他那身男孩的衣服都发臭了，他自己也一样。其他人都在河里洗澡，但是迄今为止他还没试过加入他们。有些沙洲上的海龟看起来一口就能把他咬成两半。骨甲，鸭子是这么叫它们的。另外，他不想让莱莫尔看到他赤身的样子。

They were throbbing now, his calves gone hard as wood. He kneaded them with his fingers, trying to rub the ache away, but when he stood the pain was still enough to make him grimace. I need to bathe. His boy’s clothes stank, and so did he. The others bathed in the river, but thus far he had not joined them. Some of the turtles he’d seen in the shallows looked big enough to bite him in half. Bonesnappers, Duck called them. Besides, he did not want Lemore to see him naked.

有个木梯搭在船舱顶边，提利昂套上他的靴子下到后甲板上，火盆边格里夫正裹在他的狼皮斗篷里。雇佣剑士亲自守夜，就像他的手下一样在太阳升起才回去睡觉。

A wooden ladder led down from the cabin roof. Tyrion pulled on his boots and descended to the afterdeck, where Griff sat wrapped in a wolfskin cloak beside an iron brazier. The sellsword kept the night watch by himself, rising as the rest of his band sought their beds and retiring when the sun came up.

提利昂蹲在他对面烤火，河对岸可以听到夜莺的歌声。“天就要亮了，”他对格里夫说。

Tyrion squatted across from him and warmed his hands over the coals. Across the water nightingales were singing. “Day soon,” he said to Griff.

“不会那么快。我们要起航了。”如果能由格里夫决定的话，害羞小姐号早在夜里就会像白天一样向下游行进，但是杨恩德里和伊西拉不愿意冒险让船在黑暗中穿行。罗伊达上游的水中漂浮着木桩等各种障碍，任何一种都可能把害羞小姐号的船体撕得粉碎。格里夫当然不希望那种事发生，他想要的就只有瓦兰提斯。

“Not soon enough. We need to be under way.” If it had been up to Griff, the Shy Maid would continue downstream by night as well as day, but Yandry and Ysilla refused to risk their poleboat in the dark. The Upper Rhoyne was full of snags and sawyers, any one of which could rip out the Shy Maid’s hull. Griff did not want to hear it. What he wanted was Volantis.

雇佣剑士的双眼中的警惕从未消失，他一直在搜索着夜色……但他想找什么？海盗？石人？奴隶贩子？河流是危险的，注入知道，但是对于提利昂格里夫是个更危险的存在。他让提利昂想起了Bronn，但是Bronn有着雇佣剑士的黑色幽默而这半点没有体现在格里夫身上。

The sellsword’s eyes were always moving, searching the night for … what? Pirates? Stone men? Slave-catchers? The river had perils, the dwarf knew, but Griff himself struck Tyrion as more dangerous than any of them. He reminded Tyrion of Bronn, though Bronn had a sellsword’s black humor and Griff had no humor at all.

“为一杯红酒我就能拼个你死我活，”提利昂喃喃。

“I would kill for a cup of wine,” muttered Tyrion.

格里夫没有回应，在你能尝到它前你早死了，他的浅色眼睛这样说。提利昂在害羞小姐号上的第一个晚上喝得烂醉，他早上醒来时的感觉就像有巨龙在脑袋中战斗。格里夫看了一眼在船舷边干呕的提利昂说，“你的酒量还真差。”

Griff made no reply. You will die before you drink, his pale eyes seemed to say. Tyrion had drunk himself blind his first night on the Shy Maid. The next day he awoke with dragons fighting in his skull. Griff took one look at him retching over the side of the poleboat, and said, “You are done with drink.”

“红酒助我入眠，”提利昂反对道。红酒会淹没我的梦，他本来要说。

“Wine helps me sleep,” Tyrion had protested. Wine drowns my dreams, he might have said.

“那就清醒点，”格里夫执意回答。

“Then stay awake,” Griff had replied, implacable.

东边第一缕苍白的日光弥散在河的上空。罗伊达河的河水渐渐由黑色变蓝，正好呼应了雇佣剑士的须发。格里夫起身。“大家也快起床了，甲板是你的了。”当夜莺归于沉寂，水雀接过它们的工作继续欢歌。白鹭在芦苇丛中溅起一片水花在沙洲上流下了它们的印记。天空中的云彩看起来鲜亮无比：粉紫相映，褐紫与金色交织，珍珠白中透着橘色。其中一片看起来像条龙。若一个人看见一条飞龙，那还是让他好好呆在家里中照顾花园吧，有人曾这样写道，这个世界上在没有比这更伟大的奇迹了。提利昂抓挠着他的疤痕试图想起这句话的主人。最近他越来越多得想到龙。

To the east, the first pale light of day suffused the sky above the river. The waters of the Rhoyne slowly went from black to blue, to match the sellsword’s hair and beard. Griff got to his feet. “The others should wake soon. The deck is yours.” As the nightingales fell silent, the river larks took up their song. Egrets splashed amongst the reeds and left their tracks across the sandbars. The clouds in the sky were aglow: pink and purple, maroon and gold, pearl and saffron. One looked like a dragon. Once a man has seen a dragon in flight, let him stay at home and tend his garden in content, someone had written once, for this wide world has no greater wonder. Tyrion scratched at his scar and tried to recall the author’s name. Dragons had been much in his thoughts of late.

“早安，雨果。”莱莫尔修女身着白袍出现，腰间系着一条七彩编织腰带，她的秀发流泻在肩上。“睡得怎么样？”

“Good morrow, Hugor.” Septa Lemore had emerged in her white robes, cinched at the waist with a woven belt of seven colors. Her hair flowed loose about her shoulders. “How did you sleep?”

“时醒时睡，亲爱的女士。我又梦到你了。”白日梦。他睡不着，只好将手置于胯间想象着修女伏在他身上酥胸跳动的样子。

“Fitfully, good lady. I dreamed of you again.” A waking dream. He could not sleep, so he had eased a hand between his legs and imagined the septa atop him, breasts bouncing.

“毫无疑问是个下流的梦，你这个下流的小子。你会对我祈祷宽恕你的罪么？”

“A wicked dream, no doubt. You are a wicked man. Will you pray with me and ask forgiveness for your sins?”

除非我们以盛夏群岛的方式祈祷。“不，但是请务为我必给少女一个吻。”

Only if we pray in the fashion of the Summer Isles. “No, but do give the Maiden a long, sweet kiss for me.”

修女大笑着走向船头，她习惯早上在河中沐浴。“毫无疑问，这条船不是以你命名的，”提利昂在她褪去袍子时说道。

Laughing, the septa walked to the prow of the boat. It was her custom to bathe in the river every morning. “Plainly, this boat was not named for you,” Tyrion called as she disrobed.

“天父和圣母以他们的模样创造了我们，雨果。我们要以之自豪，我们都是天神的杰作。”

“The Mother and the Father made us in their image, Hugor. We should glory in our bodies, for they are the work of gods.”

天神大概在创造我的时候喝醉了。侏儒看着莱莫尔滑进水中，这光景总让他变硬，想象着褪下修女那身纯洁的白袍张开她的双腿还真是邪恶的美妙。夺走她的纯洁，他想着……但显然莱莫尔不像她看起来那么纯洁。从她的肚子上妊娠纹来看她有过孩子。

The gods must have been drunk when they got to me. The dwarf watched Lemore slip into the water. The sight always made him hard. There was something wonderfully wicked about the thought of peeling the septa out of those chaste white robes and spreading her legs. Innocence despoiled, he thought … though Lemore was not near as innocent as she appeared. She had stretch marks on her belly that could only have come from childbirth.

杨恩德里和伊西拉随太阳升起回到了他们的岗位。杨恩德里在他检查缆绳时总时不时偷看一眼莱莫尔修女。他又小又黑的老婆伊西拉对此熟视无睹。她往后甲板上的火盆里丢了些木屑，用把焦黑的刀搅拌了下煤渣，然后就揉起作为早餐饼干的面团。

Yandry and Ysilla had risen with the sun and were going about their business. Yandry stole a glance at Septa Lemore from time to time as he was checking the lines. His small dark wife, Ysilla, took no notice. She fed some wood chips to the brazier on the afterdeck, stirred the coals with a blackened blade, and began to knead the dough for the morning biscuits.

当莱莫尔爬回甲板后，提利昂欣赏着她双乳间流淌的水流，在晨曦中她光滑的肌肤泛着金光。她已年逾40，端庄更胜美丽，但依旧养眼。他发现冲动是除了醉酒外第二美好的事。那让他感受到生命依旧留存在体内。“你看到那些乌龟了么，雨果？”修女拧着头发里的水问他，“那些拱着背的家伙？”

When Lemore climbed back onto the deck, Tyrion savored the sight of water trickling between her breasts, her smooth skin glowing golden in the morning light. She was past forty, more handsome than pretty, but still easy on the eye. Being randy is the next best thing to being drunk, he decided. It made him feel as if he was still alive. “Did you see the turtle, Hugor?” the septa asked him, wringing water from her hair. “The big ridgeback?”

清晨是看见乌龟的最佳时间。白天它们沉在水底，或者在岸边潜伏，但是在太阳初升时它们会浮到水面。有些会跟着船边游泳。提利昂一眼扫去看到好几个品种：大的和小的，平背和红耳的，软壳儿的和骨甲的，棕的绿的黑的，爪龟和角龟，还有有着金、翡翠和奶油色呈螺旋状覆盖的龟壳和背脊的乌龟。有的大到能驮一个男人在背，杨恩德里发誓有个罗伊达的王子曾骑着它们渡河。他们夫妇俩都有绿血血统，作为一对多恩的孤儿回到了罗伊达母亲的怀抱。

The early morning was the best time for seeing turtles. During the day they would swim down deep, or hide in cuts along the banks, but when the sun was newly risen they came to the surface. Some liked to swim beside the boat. Tyrion had glimpsed a dozen different sorts: large turtles and small ones, flatbacks and red-ears, softshells and bonesnappers, brown turtles, green turtles, black turtles, clawed turtles and horned turtles, turtles whose ridged and patterned shells were covered with whorls of gold and jade and cream. Some were so large they could have borne a man upon their backs. Yandry swore the Rhoynar princes used to ride them across the river. He and his wife were Greenblood born, a pair of Dornish orphans come home to Mother Rhoyne.

“我错过了脊背。”我当时正在看裸女。

“I missed the ridgeback.” I was watching the naked woman.

“我真抱歉。”莱莫尔从头顶穿上袍子。“我知道你早起是为了看乌龟。”

“I am sad for you.” Lemore slipped her robe over her head. “I know you only rise so early in hopes of seeing turtles.”

“我也喜欢看日出。”就像看一个少女裸身出浴一样。有些可能长相出众些，但是每个都很有希望。“我得承认那些乌龟有它们魅力。再没有什么比一对形状姣好的……壳能取悦我了。”

“I like to watch the sun come up as well.” It was like watching a maiden rising naked from her bath. Some might be prettier than others, but every one was full of promise. “The turtles have their charms, I will allow. Nothing delights me so much as the sight of a nice pair of shapely … shells.”

“莱莫尔修女大笑。像这条船上的其他人一样，她也有她的秘密。她在他们中间很受欢迎，我不想了解她，我只想操她。而且她也知道这点。当她把他的修女水晶挂在脖颈搭在双乳间时她露出个嘲笑的笑容。

Septa Lemore laughed. Like everyone else aboard the Shy Maid, she had her secrets. She was welcome to them. I do not want to know her, I only want to fuck her. She knew it too. As she hung her septa’s crystal about her neck, to nestle in the cleft between her breasts, she teased him with a smile.

杨恩德里升起锚，从舱顶拖下一根长杆然后起航了。两只白鹭抬起头看着害羞小姐号离岸滑进水流，缓缓向下游驶去。杨恩德里来到舵柄跟前，伊西拉正在翻烤饼干，她将一个平底铁锅置于火盆上，放了片培根进去。有时候她烤培根加饼干，有时则是饼干加培根。每隔两周，也许会有烤鱼，但今天没有。

Yandry pulled up the anchor, slid one of the long poles off the cabin roof, and pushed them off. Two of the herons raised their heads to watch as the Shy Maid drifted away from the bank, out into the current. Slowly the boat began to move downstream. Yandry went to the tiller. Ysilla was turning the biscuits. She laid an iron pan atop the brazier and put the bacon in. Some days she cooked biscuits and bacon; some days bacon and biscuits. Once every fortnight there might be a fish, but not today.

趁着伊西拉转身，提利昂从火盆上偷抓了片饼干就飞快溜走以防遭到她大木勺的招呼。若蘸着蜂蜜和黄油趁热吃味道最好了。很开培根的香味就把鸭子从船舱里引了过来，他嗅过火盆，遭到伊西拉大木勺的招待后转身去了船尾撒尿。

When Ysilla turned her back, Tyrion snatched a biscuit off the brazier, darting away just in time to avoid a smack from her fearsome wooden spoon. They were best when eaten hot, dripping with honey and butter. The smell of the bacon cooking soon fetched Duck up from the hold. He sniffed over the brazier, received a swack from Ysilla’s spoon, and went back to have his morning piss off the stern.

提利昂蹒跚走来加入了他。“看看现在的景象，”他在释放膀胱的同时打趣，“一个侏儒和一只鸭子，让强大的罗伊达河更强。”

Tyrion waddled over to join him. “Now here’s a sight to see,” he quipped as they were emptying their bladders, “a dwarf and a duck, making the mighty Rhoyne that much mightier.”

杨恩德里用鼻子哼了哼。“母亲河罗伊达才不要你那点嘘嘘，尤罗，她是世界上最伟大的河。”

Yandry snorted in derision. “Mother Rhoyne has no need of your water, Yollo. She is the greatest river in the world.”

提利昂抖下最后几滴。“大的足以淹死一个侏儒，我保证。虽然曼德河也一样宽广，当然还有三岔河，黑水河则深一些。”

Tyrion shook off the last few drops. “Big enough to drown a dwarf, I grant you. The Mander is as broad, though. So is the Trident, near its mouth. The Blackwater runs deeper.”

“你不了解河流，等着瞧吧。”

“You do not know the river. Wait, and you will see.”

培根已经烤的鲜脆而饼干则泛着金棕色。小格里夫爬上甲板吼道。“早上好，各位。”男孩比鸭子矮些但是他细长的身躯显示他还没长成。这个没毛的小子无论是不是个蓝毛儿，放在七大王国能得到任何女孩的芳心，他的眼睛就能使她们融化。像他老子一样，小格里夫有着一对蓝眼睛，但是不像他父亲的浅色，他的眼睛是深蓝。在灯火中它们看起来如墨色一般，而在暮光中则映出紫色的神彩。他还有着长长的像女孩似地睫毛。

The bacon turned crisp, the biscuits golden brown. Young Griff stumbled up onto deck yawning. “Good morrow, all.” The lad was shorter than Duck, but his lanky build suggested that he had not yet come into his full growth. This beardless boy could have any maiden in the Seven Kingdoms, blue hair or no. Those eyes of his would melt them. Like his sire, Young Griff had blue eyes, but where the father’s eyes were pale, the son’s were dark. By lamplight they turned black, and in the light of dusk they seemed purple. His eyelashes were as long as any woman’s.

“我闻到培根了。”男孩说，拉上他的靴子。

“I smell bacon,” the lad said, pulling on his boots.

“很不错的培根，”伊西拉说。“坐吧。”

“Good bacon,” said Ysilla. “Sit.”

她在后甲板上给他们分食物，给小格里夫蜂蜜饼干，在鸭子伸手要更多的培根时用大木勺招呼他。提利昂把掰开两片饼干夹着培根，给了在舵柄边的杨恩德里一份。之后他帮鸭子升起害羞小姐号的风帆，带着大家行驶到河中央的急流。害羞小姐号是条可爱的传船，她的吃水是如此之前于是她可以载着大家在河流最细的支流中行驶，在会使大船陷入困境的沙洲间游走，同时风帆鼓张、水流承托，她可以轻盈疾行。杨恩德里声称在罗伊达河的上游河段这决定着生死。“伤心地上游河段无法可依，至少近一千年来是这样。”

She fed them on the afterdeck, pressing honeyed biscuits on Young Griff and hitting Duck’s hand with her spoon whenever he made a grab for more bacon. Tyrion pulled apart two biscuits, filled them with bacon, and carried one to Yandry at the tiller. Afterward he helped Duck to raise the Shy Maid’s big lateen sail. Yandry took them out into the center of the river, where the current was strongest. The Shy Maid was a sweet boat. Her draft was so shallow she could work her way up even the smallest of the river’s vassal streams, negotiating sandbars that would have stranded larger vessels, yet with her sail raised and a current under her, she could make good speed. That could mean life and death on the upper reaches of the Rhoyne, Yandry claimed. “There is no law above the Sorrows, not for a thousand years.”

“就我所看，人也一样。”他瞥到沿河两岸的废墟，杂草丛生，爬满了藤蔓青苔和野花，满目疮痍，再没有人类栖居地的痕迹。

“And no people, so far as I can see.” He’d glimpsed some ruins along the banks, piles of masonry overgrown by vines and moss and flowers, but no other signs of human habitation.

“你不了解河流，尤罗。海盗船可能在任何溪流里窥伺，出逃的奴隶则在那些废墟中潜伏。奴隶贩子绝少来到这样北的地方。 ”

“You do not know the river, Yollo. A pirate boat may lurk up any stream, and escaped slaves oft hide amongst the ruins. The slave-catchers seldom come so far north.”

“对于那些乌龟来说奴隶贩子肯定很受欢迎。”自己不是在逃的奴隶，提利昂不用担心会被抓。也没有哪个海盗会自找麻烦劫掠一艘顺流而下的平底船。商品都是从下游的瓦兰提斯向上游运输。

“Slave-catchers would be a welcome change from turtles.” Not being an escaped slave, Tyrion need not fear being caught. And no pirate was like to bother a poleboat moving downstream. The valuable goods came up the river from Volantis.

当培根吃完后，鸭子拍了拍小格里夫的肩膀。“是时候来点儿训练了。今天练剑吧。”

When the bacon was gone, Duck punched Young Griff in the shoulder. “Time to raise some bruises. Swords today, I think.”

“剑？”小格里夫咧嘴一笑。“练剑最好了。”

“Swords?” Young Griff grinned. “Swords will be sweet.”

提利昂帮他船上格斗用装，厚重的裤子，紧身上衣，还有一套凹痕累累的旧铁甲。洛里爵士套上他的锁子甲和熟皮甲。两人都带上了头盔从武器箱里选了钝剑。他们在后甲板上打起来，那天上午的其他时间，在大家的微观中，有力的击打对方。

Tyrion helped him dress for the bout, in heavy breeches, padded doublet, and a dinted suit of old steel plate. Ser Rolly shrugged into his mail and boiled leather. Both set helms upon their heads and chose blunted longswords from the bundle in the weapons chest. They set to on the afterdeck, having at each other lustily whilst the rest of the morning company looked on.

当他们开始用狼牙棒和长钝斧战斗时，洛里爵士伟岸的身躯和力量很快就压倒了对方，加上剑的话更甚。这天噪声两人都没有用盾，所以这是一场在甲板前后挥砍与避闪的游戏。河流应和着他们格斗的节拍，小格里夫的击打次数较多但是鸭子的更重。一会儿，大块头开始疲劳了，他的劈砍变的有点迟缓，攻击力也变弱。小格里夫开始反击发起了狂暴的攻击迫使洛里爵士后退。当他们退到船尾时，男孩绞起他们的刀刃用肩膀猛撞了鸭子一下，于是大块头就掉进了河里。

When they fought with mace or blunted longaxe, Ser Rolly’s greater size and strength would quickly overwhelm his charge; with swords the contests were more even. Neither man had taken up a shield this morning, so it was a game of slash and parry, back and forth across the deck. The river rang to the sounds of their combat. Young Griff landed more blows, though Duck’s were harder. After a while, the bigger man began to tire. His cuts came a little slower, a little lower. Young Griff turned them all and launched a furious attack that forced Ser Rolly back. When they reached the stern, the lad tied up their blades and slammed a shoulder into Duck, and the big man went into the river.

他变的气急败坏不断咒骂，吼着在那些乌龟咬掉他的老二前让人把他钓上来。提利昂扔了条绳子给他。“鸭子该游的好些，”他说着同时和杨安德里一起把落水的其实拽回害羞小姐的甲板。

He came up sputtering and cursing, bellowing for someone to fish him out before a ’snapper ate his privates. Tyrion tossed a line to him. “Ducks should swim better than that,” he said as he and Yandry were hauling the knight back aboard the Shy Maid.

洛里爵士抓住提利昂的领口。“让我们看看侏儒怎么游，”他说着把侏儒猛扔进罗伊达河。

Ser Rolly grabbed Tyrion by the collar. “Let us see how dwarfs swim,” he said, chucking him headlong into the Rhoyne.

侏儒笑到了最后；他划水划的能力还不错，而他也确实是……知道他的双腿开始抽筋。小格里夫伸给他一根杆子。“你不是第一个想把我淹死的人，”他一边把鞋子里的水倒出来一边告诉鸭子，“我爸在我出生那天就把我扔下了井，但我实在太丑所以井里的老巫婆把我吐了回去。”他脱下另一只靴子，沿着甲板做了个侧手翻，甩了大家一身水。

The dwarf laughed last; he could paddle passably well, and did … until his legs began to cramp. Young Griff extended him a pole. “You are not the first to try and drown me,” he told Duck, as he was pouring river water from his boot. “My father threw me down a well the day I was born, but I was so ugly that the water witch who lived down there spat me back.” He pulled off the other boot, then did a cartwheel along the deck, spraying all of them.

小格里夫笑道。“你在哪儿学的那手？”

Young Griff laughed. “Where did you learn that?”

“伶人教的，”他没说实话。“我妈妈最疼我了，因为我是孩子里最小的。直到我满7岁她都亲自哺乳我。那让我的哥哥们吃足了飞醋，所以他们把我塞进了一个麻袋卖给了马戏团。当我试图逃走时老板割掉了我半个鼻子这样我别无选择只好跟着他们学逗乐。”

“The mummers taught me,” he lied. “My mother loved me best of all her children because I was so small. She nursed me at her breast till I was seven. That made my brothers jealous, so they stuffed me in a sack and sold me to a mummer’s troupe. When I tried to run off the master mummer cut off half my nose, so I had no choice but to go with them and learn to be amusing.”

真想远非这样。他的叔叔在他六七岁的时候教了他点翻跟头，他太高兴了，有半年时间他都高兴的在凯岩城里翻着跟头走，给修士，侍从和仆人之类的人逗乐。甚至瑟熙看到他也笑过一两次。

The truth was rather different. His uncle had taught him a bit of tumbling when he was six or seven. Tyrion had taken to it eagerly. For half a year he cartwheeled his merry way about Casterly Rock, bringing smiles to the faces of septons, squires, and servants alike. Even Cersei laughed to see him once or twice.

一切在他父亲从君临的旅居回来后结束了，那天提利昂用手走了长桌那么长的距离惊讶的发现他的父亲一点儿也不高兴。“上天把你造成了诸如难道你就得表现的像个白痴？你生为一头狮子不是一只猴子。”

All that ended abruptly the day his father returned from a sojourn in King’s Landing. That night at supper Tyrion surprised his sire by walking the length of the high table on his hands. Lord Tywin was not pleased. “The gods made you a dwarf. Must you be a fool as well? You were born a lion, not a monkey.”

你现在是死人啦，老爹，所以现在我想怎么样装蠢你也管不着。“你逗人发笑真有一手，”莱莫尔修女在提利昂晾干脚趾的时候告诉他。“你得感谢天父，他赐予他所有的孩子以天赋。”

And you’re a corpse, Father, so I’ll caper as I please.

“他的确，”他高兴的同意了。所以当我死后，请让一个十字弓与我陪葬，这样我就可以像感谢地底下那个老爹一样感谢天上的天父的赐予的天赋。

“You have a gift for making men smile,” Septa Lemore told Tyrion as he was drying off his toes. “You should thank the Father Above. He gives gifts to all his children.”

他的衣服依旧如刚才那不情愿的落水时一样湿漉漉的，粘在胳膊腿上弄的他很不舒服，小格里夫随莱莫尔修女去接受信仰神秘的指导去了，提利昂脱下湿衣服换上干的。鸭子一上甲板就又开始一阵狂笑，他不好责备他，穿成这样一定很滑稽。他的紧身上衣在中间分成了两半：左半边是紫色天鹅绒镶嵌青铜纽扣，右边是刺着花朵图案的黄色羊毛。他的裤子同样分两种颜色，右腿是纯绿色，左腿的是红白相间的条纹。伊利里欧给的其中一个箱子里塞满了儿童服饰，虽然陈旧但是质量上乘。莱莫尔修女把每件衣服都撕成两半然后把他们交叉缝好，造就了一种粗犷混杂的款式。格里夫坚持要体谅帮助她撕裂拼接那些衣服，他的以为是羞辱提利昂让他学着点谦卑，但是提利昂对于针线活还玩的蛮开心。除了每当他对神灵说点不敬的话就会批评他的嗜好外，莱莫尔总的来说是个愉快的伙伴。若格里芬之一让我当个小丑，那我就陪他玩这个游戏。

“He does,” he agreed pleasantly. And when I die, please let them bury with me a crossbow, so I can thank the Father Above for his gifts the same way I thanked the father below.

他要做的工作除了装蠢就再无其他。鸭子有他的剑，我有羽毛笔和羊皮纸。格里夫让他写下他所知的所有关于龙的知识。这是个困难的工作，但是侏儒每天都对它尽心尽力虽然当他在舱顶席地而坐时，得尽量让字不那么歪斜。

His clothing was still soaked from his involuntary swim, clinging to his arms and legs uncomfortably. Whilst Young Griff went off with Septa Lemore to be instructed in the mysteries of the Faith, Tyrion stripped off the wet clothes and donned dry ones. Duck had a good guffaw when he emerged on deck again. He could not blame him. Dressed as he was, he made a comic sight. His doublet was divided down the middle; the left side was purple velvet with bronze studs; the right, yellow wool embroidered in green floral patterns. His breeches were similarly split; the right leg was solid green, the left leg striped in red and white. One of Illyrio’s chests had been packed with a child’s clothing, musty but well made. Septa Lemore had slit each garment apart, then sewn them back together, joining half of this to half of that to fashion a crude motley. Griff had even insisted that Tyrion help with the cutting and sewing. No doubt he meant for it to be humbling, but Tyrion enjoyed the needlework. Lemore was always pleasant company, despite her penchant for scolding him whenever he said something rude about the gods. If Griff wants to cast me as the fool, I’ll play the game. Somewhere, he knew, Lord Tywin Lannister was horrified, and that took the sting from it.

提利昂多年来读了很多关于龙的知识。其中的大部分都是没法依靠的无根据的传说，另外伊利里欧提供的那些书并不是他所希望的那些。他真正想要的是那些关于The Fires of the Freehold、伽兰德罗关于瓦雷利亚历史的全文记载。但在维斯特洛伊，却没有什么全抄本留存，即使是学城的遗失的27卷卷轴也是。在古老的瓦兰提斯毫无疑问肯定有座图书馆。若能找到方法进到“黑墙”进入城市中心，我在那可能能找到一份好点的抄本。

His other duty was anything but foolish. Duck has his sword, I my quill and parchment. Griff had commanded him to set down all he knew of dragonlore. The task was a formidable one, but the dwarf labored at it every day, scratching away as best he could as he sat cross-legged on the cabin roof.

关于巴斯修士的《龙，Wyrms和Wyverns：他们的非自然史》这本书他就更没信心了。巴斯是个铁匠的儿子，最后在“人瑞王”杰赫里斯一世当政时期晋升到国王之手。他的敌人总说他是巫师而非主教。“受神祝福的”贝勒登上铁王座后下令焚毁巴斯的所有著作。十年前，提利昂曾读到一片逃脱贝勒魔掌的《非自然史》的残片，但是他怀疑巴斯的著作是否有幸跨越狭海得意留存。当然他找到那些不知名的，残破的，血浸的砖头似的书，比如叫《血与火》，有时被称为《龙之死》的书，据说它现存的唯一的抄本在学城的地下墓穴埋藏。

Tyrion had read much and more of dragons through the years. The greater part of those accounts were idle tales and could not be relied on, and the books that Illyrio had provided them were not the ones he might have wished for. What he really wanted was the complete text of The Fires of the Freehold, Galendro’s history of Valyria. No complete copy was known to Westeros, however; even the Citadel’s lacked twenty-seven scrolls. They must have a library in Old Volantis, surely. I may find a better copy there, if I can find a way inside the Black Walls to the city’s heart.

当“半学士”打着哈欠出现在甲板上时，侏儒正在写刚刚想起的关于龙交配的习性，在这点上，巴斯，芒坤和托马克斯各执其词。哈尔顿大步走向船尾，朝着太阳的方向撒尿，太阳倒影闪闪发光随着每一阵风碎裂。“我们到晚上就能和诺伊尼汇合了，尤罗，”“半学士”大声说。

He was less hopeful concerning Septon Barth’s Dragons, Wyrms, and Wyverns: Their Unnatural History. Barth had been a blacksmith’s son who rose to be King’s Hand during the reign of Jaehaerys the Conciliator. His enemies always claimed he was more sorcerer than septon. Baelor the Blessed had ordered all Barth’s writings destroyed when he came to the Iron Throne. Ten years ago, Tyrion had read a fragment of Unnatural History that had eluded the Blessed Baelor, but he doubted that any of Barth’s work had found its way across the narrow sea. And of course there was even less chance of his coming on the fragmentary, anonymous, blood-soaked tome sometimes called Blood and Fire and sometimes The Death of Dragons, the only surviving copy of which was supposedly hidden away in a locked vault beneath the Citadel.

提利昂从奋笔疾书中抬起头，“我的名字是雨果。尤罗藏在我裤裆里，你要让它出来溜达溜达么？”

When the Halfmaester appeared on deck, yawning, the dwarf was writing down what he recalled concerning the mating habits of dragons, on which subject Barth, Munkun, and Thomax held markedly divergent views. Haldon stalked to the stern to piss down at the sun where it shimmered on the water, breaking apart with every puff of wind. “We should reach the junction with the Noyne by evening, Yollo,” the Halfmaester called out.

“最好别，你可能会吓到乌龟的。”哈尔顿的笑容锋利的如同匕首的刀刃。“你告诉我的那条兰尼斯特港你出生的街道叫什么来着，尤罗？”

Tyrion glanced up from his writing. “My name is Hugor. Yollo is hiding in my breeches. Shall I let him out to play?”

“那是个无名小巷。”提利昂从胡诌出雨果·希尔，或者被称为尤罗——兰尼斯特港遗弃的杂种——的这个家伙多彩的人生上感到一种讽刺的满足。最棒的谎言总有点真相来调味。侏儒知道他的口音听起来是个西方人，而且是个出身高贵的西方人，所以雨果得当过某位大人的私生子。出生在兰尼斯特港是因为比起君临和旧镇他对那儿更熟悉，而且那时大多数侏儒要去的地方，还有乡下地主女人的小崽子。乡下可没有滑稽戏和哑剧表演……不过倒是不少水井供颜色那些不想要的小猫咪、三个脑袋的牛犊和像他这样的怪胎。

“Best not. You might frighten the turtles.” Haldon’s smile was as sharp as the blade of a dagger. “What did you tell me was the name of that street in Lannisport where you were born, Yollo?”

“我看你已经损坏了不少羊皮纸了，尤罗。”哈尔顿系上了他的裤带。

“It was an alley. It had no name.” Tyrion took a mordant pleasure in inventing the details of the colorful life of Hugor Hill, also known as Yollo, a bastard out of Lannisport. The best lies are seasoned with a bit of truth. The dwarf knew he sounded like a westerman, and a highborn westerman at that, so Hugor must needs be some lordling’s by-blow. Born in Lannisport because he knew that city better than Oldtown or King’s Landing, and cities were where most dwarfs ended up, even those whelped by Goodwife Bumpkin in the turnip patch. The countryside had no grotesqueries or mummer shows … though it did have wells aplenty, to swallow up unwanted kittens, three-headed calves, and babes like him.

“不是我们中的所有人都能当个半学士的。”提利昂的手在痉挛，于是他放下羽毛笔搓了搓粗短的手。“有兴趣再来玩一盘锡瓦斯棋？”“半学士”总是能赢他，但是这不失为一个打发时间的法子。

“I see you have been defacing more good parchment, Yollo.” Haldon laced up his breeches.

“今晚吧。你要来参加小格里夫的课程么？”

“Not all of us can be half a maester.” Tyrion’s hand was cramping. He put his quill aside and flexed his stubby fingers. “Fancy another game of cyvasse?” The Halfmaester always defeated him, but it was a way to pass the time.

“为什么不呢？总得有人挑你的刺儿。”

“This evening. Will you join us for Young Griff’s lesson?”

害羞小姐上游四个船舱，杨恩德里和伊西拉共用一间。

“Why not? Someone needs to correct your errors.”

格里夫和小格里夫用另一个。莱莫尔修女有她自己的一间，哈尔顿也是。“半学士”的房间是四个里面最大的。一面墙排满了书架和装满了卷轴和羊皮纸的罐子；另一面墙则是一排排药膏、草药和药水。金色的阳光斜洒进微微晃动的圆窗黄玻璃。家具则包括床铺、书桌、椅子、凳子还有一个“半学士”的锡瓦斯棋游戏桌，到处都是木头碎屑。

There were four cabins on the Shy Maid. Yandry and Ysilla shared one, Griff and Young Griff another. Septa Lemore had a cabin to herself, as did Haldon. The Halfmaester’s cabin was the largest of the four. One wall was lined with bookshelves and bins stacked with old scrolls and parchments; another held racks of ointments, herbs, and potions. Golden light slanted through the wavy yellow glass of the round window. The furnishings included a bunk, a writing desk, a chair, a stool, and the Halfmaester’s cyvasse table, strewn with carved wooden pieces.

课程由语言开始。小格里夫把通用语说得就像母语一样，高等瓦雷利亚语，潘托斯、泰洛西、密尔、里斯的下层方言和水手们的行话也很流利。而他和提利昂一样对瓦兰提斯语一窍不通。所以每一天他们都学一点词汇，而哈尔顿来纠正他们。弥林语要更难一些，它瓦雷利亚语同源，但是像嫁接到灌木上的大树一样，带着难听的旧基斯发音。“得要只蜜蜂蛰一下你的鼻子你才能正确的说出基斯语，”提利昂抱怨。小格里夫一阵大笑，但是“半学士”只是说，“再来一遍。”男孩服从了，但是这回在发“zzzs”这个音的时候他不免翻了翻白眼。他有个比我更灵敏的耳朵，提利昂不得不承认，但我打赌我的舌头要更灵活。

The lesson began with languages. Young Griff spoke the Common Tongue as if he had been born to it, and was fluent in High Valyrian, the low dialects of Pentos, Tyrosh, Myr, and Lys, and the trade talk of sailors. The Volantene dialect was as new to him as it was to Tyrion, so every day they learned a few more words whilst Haldon corrected their mistakes. Meereenese was harder; its roots were Valyrian as well, but the tree had been grafted onto the harsh, ugly tongue of Old Ghis. “You need a bee up your nose to speak Ghiscari properly,” Tyrion complained. Young Griff laughed, but the Halfmaester only said, “Again.” The boy obeyed, though he rolled his eyes along with his zzzs this time. He has a better ear than me, Tyrion was forced to admit, though I’ll wager my tongue is still more nimble.

接下来是几何课程。这方面男孩就没那么机敏了，但是哈尔顿是个耐心的老师，提利昂也有他自己的方法。他在凯岩城他父亲的学士那里已经学过了关于矩形圆形和三角形的谜题，他发现想起这些比想象的容易。

Geometry followed languages. There the boy was less adroit, but Haldon was a patient teacher, and Tyrion was able to make himself of use as well. He had learned the mysteries of squares and circles and triangles from his father’s maesters at Casterly Rock, and they came back more quickly than he would have thought.

等到开始上历史，小格里夫变得不耐烦了。“我们正在讨论瓦兰提斯的历史，”哈尔顿告诉他。“你能告诉尤罗如何区分老虎和大象么？”

By the time they turned to history, Young Griff was growing restive. “We were discussing the history of Volantis,” Haldon said to him. “Can you tell Yollo the difference between a tiger and an elephant?”

“瓦兰提斯是九个自由城邦里最古老的，瓦雷利亚的第一个女儿。”男孩用无聊的口吻回答。“在瓦雷利亚末日浩劫后它依旧让瓦兰提斯人认为自己是世界的统治者和不动产（Freehold）的继承人而自鸣得意，但是他们却为如何取得统治地位产生分歧，“旧血（The Old Blood）”支持动武而商人和放贷者则提倡商贸。当他们争夺城市统治权时，两派分别叫做虎党与象党。

“Volantis is the oldest of the Nine Free Cities, first daughter of Valyria,” the lad replied, in a bored tone. “After the Doom it pleased the Volantenes to consider themselves the heirs of the Freehold and rightful rulers of the world, but they were divided as to how dominion might best be achieved. The Old Blood favored the sword, while the merchants and moneylenders advocated trade. As they contended for rule of the city, the factions became known as the tigers and elephants, respectively.

“在瓦雷利亚末日浩劫后虎党的统治长达一世纪。曾几一时他们也辉煌过，一队瓦兰提斯舰队政府了里斯而瓦兰提斯陆军则横扫密尔，在长达两代人的时间内三个城市的统治者居于‘黑墙’之内。但是这一切在虎党吞并泰洛西的企图中终结，当时潘托斯和维斯特洛伊大陆的暴风王加入了泰洛西一方。布拉赴死给里斯流放者们提供了百艘战舰，伊耿·坦格利安乘巨龙‘黑死神’参战，而自由的里斯和密尔人则起义造反。战争留给‘争执之地’一片焦土，而里斯和密尔的联盟也解除。虎党们还遭受了其他的挫败，他们排除收复瓦雷利亚的舰队消失在‘烟海’。当德加湖上的火炮战舰开战后，科霍尔和诺拉佛斯摧毁了他们在罗伊达的的有生力量。从东边来的多斯拉克人将平明从其寒舍贵族从其田产中驱逐出去，直到科霍尔森林和Selhoru河源间只剩下野草和废墟。在长达一个世纪的战争过去后，瓦兰提斯已破败不堪，穷困潦倒，人丁稀少。接着就是象党的崛起，自此他们通知瓦兰提斯至今。有的年份里虎党也会参选三元老（triarch），有的年份则不会，但他们从来得不到超过一个席位，所以象党已经统治城市长达300年了。

“The tigers held sway for almost a century after the Doom of Valyria. For a time they were successful. A Volantene fleet took Lys and a Volantene army captured Myr, and for two generations all three cities were ruled from within the Black Walls. That ended when the tigers tried to swallow Tyrosh. Pentos came into the war on the Tyroshi side, along with the Westerosi Storm King. Braavos provided a Lyseni exile with a hundred warships, Aegon Targaryen flew forth from Dragonstone on the Black Dread, and Myr and Lys rose up in rebellion. The war left the Disputed Lands a waste, and freed Lys and Myr from the yoke. The tigers suffered other defeats as well. The fleet they sent to reclaim Valyria vanished in the Smoking Sea. Qohor and Norvos broke their power on the Rhoyne when the fire galleys fought on Dagger Lake. Out of the east came the Dothraki, driving smallfolk from their hovels and nobles from their estates, until only grass and ruins remained from the forest of Qohor to the headwaters of the Selhoru. After a century of war, Volantis found herself broken, bankrupt, and depopulated. It was then that the elephants rose up. They have held sway ever since. Some years the tigers elect a triarch, and some years they do not, but never more than one, so the elephants have ruled the city for three hundred years.”

“大体如此，”哈尔顿说。“那现在的三位元老们是谁？”

“Just so,” said Haldon. “And the present triarchs?”

“玛拉阔（Malaquo）是老虎，尼耶索斯（Nyessos）和多尼弗斯（Doniphos）是象党。”

“Malaquo is a tiger, Nyessos and Doniphos are elephants.”

“那从瓦兰提斯的历史我们得出什么结论？”

“And what lesson can we draw from Volantene history?”

“如果你想征服世界，最好有龙相随。”

“If you want to conquer the world, you best have dragons.”

提利昂忍不住大笑。

Tyrion could not help but laugh.

接着，小格里夫登上甲板帮助杨恩德里驾船撑篙，哈尔顿为晚上的游戏铺好他的锡瓦斯棋游戏桌。提利昂用他大小不一的眼睛审视着一切，说，“那男孩很聪明。你把他教的很好。很悲哀的是维斯特洛伊大陆一半的领主大人都没如此博学的程度。语言、历史、诗歌、算数……对于一个雇佣剑士的儿子，还真是大口味呢。”

Later, when Young Griff went up on deck to help Yandry with the sails and poles, Haldon set up his cyvasse table for their game. Tyrion watched with mismatched eyes, and said, “The boy is bright. You have done well by him. Half the lords in Westeros are not so learned, sad to say. Languages, history, songs, sums … a heady stew for some sellsword’s son.”

“如果用的好书本可以像剑一样危险，”哈尔顿说。“这次试着打败我吧，尤罗。你玩锡瓦斯棋的糟糕程度堪比你翻滚。”

“A book can be as dangerous as a sword in the right hands,” said Haldon. “Try to give me a better battle this time, Yollo. You play cyvasse as badly as you tumble.”

“我正试图将你引入自大的歧途，”在他们于木雕的棋盘上把牌排排列到各自的一方时，提利昂说。“你认为是你教了我玩法，但是事情不像表面上看起来的那样。也许我是从奶酪商那里学的，你考虑过这点么？”

“I am trying to lull you into a false sense of confidence,” said Tyrion, as they arranged their tiles on either side of a carved wooden screen. “You think you taught me how to play, but things are not always as they seem. Perhaps I learned the game from the cheesemonger, have you considered that?”

“伊利里欧不玩儿锡瓦斯棋。”

“Illyrio does not play cyvasse.”

他是不玩，侏儒想，他玩的是权利的游戏，而你和格里夫只是其中的棋子，在他的授意下移动在必要时做出牺牲，就像他牺牲了韦赛里斯一样。“所以过失依旧归结于你，如果你玩的很烂，那时你自己的问题。”

No, thought the dwarf, he plays the game of thrones, and you and Griff and Duck are only pieces, to be moved where he will and sacrificed at need, just as he sacrificed Viserys. “The blame must fall on you, then. If I play badly, it is your doing.”

“半学士”轻笑。“尤罗，当海盗割开你喉咙后我会想念你的。”

The Halfmaester chuckled. “Yollo, I shall miss you when the pirates cut your throat.”

“这些著名的海盗都在哪儿？我都开始认为你和伊利里欧编造了他们的存在了。”

“Where are these famous pirates? I am beginning to think that you and Illyrio made them all up.”

“他们聚集在阿尔诺伊和伤心地之间的河段。在阿尔诺伊的废墟之上河段，科霍尔人统治河流，而伤心地之下则归瓦兰提斯的战舰统治，但没有城市声称对之间的河段负责，所以海盗们就在那里做了窝。达格湖里的众多岛屿是他们的聚居点和藏身地。你准备好了么？”

“They are thickest on the stretch of river between Ar Noy and the Sorrows. Above the ruins of Ar Noy, the Qohorik rule the river, and below the Sorrows the galleys of Volantis hold sway, but neither city claims the waters in between, so the pirates have made it their own. Dagger Lake is full of islands where they lurk in hidden caves and secret strongholds. Are you ready?”

“对你？毫无疑问。对海盗？有点儿。”

“For you? Beyond a doubt. For the pirates? Less so.”

哈尔顿远离棋盘，两人都凝视着对方的阵仗。“你学的很快，”“半学士”说。

Haldon removed the screen. Each of them contemplated the other’s opening array. “You are learning,” the Halfmaester said.

提利昂几乎抓住了他的龙但是又好好想了想。上次游戏他太早放她出来结果把她输给了一个投石机。“若我们真的遇到了这些飘渺的海盗，我可能就直接加入他们了。我告诉他们我的名字是雨果·半学士。”他将轻骑兵移向哈尔顿的山。

Tyrion almost grabbed his dragon but thought better of it. Last game he had brought her out too soon and lost her to a trebuchet. “If we do meet these fabled pirates, I may join up with them. I’ll tell them that my name is Hugor Halfmaester.” He moved his light horse toward Haldon’s mountains.

哈尔顿用一头象回应。“雨果·半桶水更适合你。”

Haldon answered with an elephant. “Hugor Halfwit would suit you better.”

“我只需用我一半的智慧就可以与你比肩。”提利昂让他的重骑兵前去支持轻骑兵。“你要不要赌一盘？”

“I only need half my wits to be a match for you.” Tyrion moved up his heavy horse to support the light. “Perhaps you would care to wager on the outcome?”

“半学士”抬起半边眉毛。“多少钱？”

The Halfmaester arched an eyebrow. “How much?”

“我没有钱。我们用秘密赌吧。”

“I have no coin. We’ll play for secrets.”

“格里夫会割了我的舌头。”

“Griff would cut my tongue out.”

“害怕了吧？我若是你就会。”

“Afraid, are you? I would be if I were you.”

“你在锡瓦斯棋上打败我的那天我就让乌龟从我屁眼里钻出来。”“半学士”移动了他的长枪队。“你得到了你要的赌约，小个子。”

“The day you defeat me at cyvasse will be the day turtles crawl out my arse.” The Halfmaester moved his spears. “You have your wager, little man.”

提利昂向他的龙伸出手。

Tyrion stretched a hand out for his dragon.

三个小时之后小个子的男人才终于爬出甲板去撒了泡尿，鸭子正在帮杨恩德里卷帆，与此同时，伊西拉掌舵。夕阳低低的悬挂在河西岸的芦苇荡上空，风开始嘶吼了。我需要一皮囊的红酒，侏儒心想。他的双腿由于蹲坐在凳子上太久而抽搐，他感觉头重脚轻没掉进河里算是幸运。

It was three hours later when the little man finally crept back up on deck to empty his bladder. Duck was helping Yandry wrestle down the sail, while Ysilla took the tiller. The sun hung low above the reed-beds along the western bank, as the wind began to gust and rip. I need that skin of wine, the dwarf thought. His legs were cramped from squatting on that stool, and he felt so light-headed that he was lucky not to fall into the river.

“尤罗，”鸭子喊道。“哈尔顿在哪？”

“Yollo,” Duck called. “Where’s Haldon?”

“他上床睡觉去了，有点不舒服。他屁眼里有些乌龟在爬进爬出。”他离开了骑士去收拾东西沿梯子爬上了舱顶。远在东方，有暗影在石岛后聚集。

“He’s taken to his bed, in some discomfort. There are turtles crawling out his arse.” He left the knight to sort that out and crawled up the ladder to the cabin roof. Off to the east, there was darkness gathering behind a rocky island.

莱莫尔修女发现他在那儿。“你能感受到酝酿于空气中的暴风么，雨果·希尔？逡巡着海盗的达格湖就在前方等着我们，在那之后就是伤心地了。”

Septa Lemore found him there. “Can you feel the storms in the air, Hugor Hill? Dagger Lake is ahead of us, where pirates prowl. And beyond that lie the Sorrows.”

不是我的。我走到哪我就把我的带到哪。他想起了泰莎想知道哪里是妓女的去处。为什么不是瓦兰提斯呢？也许在那里我可以找到她。人要紧抓希望。他又想自己若见到她该说些什么：我很抱歉我让他们操了你，亲爱的；我认为你是个妓女；你能打心里原谅我么？我想回到我们的小木屋，回到我们还是夫妻的时候。

Not mine. I carry mine own sorrows with me, everywhere I go. He thought of Tysha and wondered where whores go. Why not Volantis? Perhaps I’ll find her there. A man should cling to hope. He wondered what he would say to her. I am sorry that I let them rape you, love. I thought you were a whore. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me? I want to go back to our cottage, to the way it was when we were man and wife.

小岛在身后渐远，提利昂看见东岸的一排排废墟：残垣断塔，漏雨的圆顶和腐烂的木柱，街道塞满了泥浆和茂盛的紫藓。又一个死城，有Ghoyan Drohe十倍大。乌龟在那定居了，大大的骨甲龟。侏儒认出它们在阳光下由其背甲中央向下，边缘粗糙的棕黑小丘反射的光。有些看见了害羞小姐号于是划入水中，在身后留下涟漪。这可不是个适合游泳的地方。

The island fell away behind them. Tyrion saw ruins rising along the eastern bank: crooked walls and fallen towers, broken domes and rows of rotted wooden pillars, streets choked by mud and overgrown with purple moss. Another dead city, ten times as large as Ghoyan Drohe. Turtles lived there now, big bonesnappers. The dwarf could see them basking in the sun, brown and black hummocks with jagged ridges down the center of their shells. A few saw the Shy Maid and slid down into the water, leaving ripples in their wake. This would not be a good place for a swim.

接着，穿过岸边半浸于水中的树和宽广潮湿的街道他瞥见阳光照射在水面的光泽。那边还有一条河直汇罗伊达河。随着两条河间的土地越来越窄，废墟变的更为高大，直到整个城市到达终点，在那里有座由粉色和绿色大理石建造的巨大宫殿的遗迹，它坍塌的圆顶和破损的尖顶阴森的凸显在一排有顶拱门上方。提利昂看见更多的骨甲龟在曾经停留着数十艘大船的码头睡觉。这是尼米莉亚的宫殿，而这篇废墟属于尼萨尔，尼米莉亚的一座城市。

Then, through the twisted half-drowned trees and wide wet streets, he glimpsed the silvery sheen of sunlight upon water. Another river, he knew at once, rushing toward the Rhoyne. The ruins grew taller as the land grew narrower, until the city ended on a point of land where stood the remains of a colossal palace of pink and green marble, its collapsed domes and broken spires looming large above a row of covered archways. Tyrion saw more ’snappers sleeping in the slips where half a hundred ships might once have docked. He knew where he was then. That was Nymeria’s palace, and this is all that remains of Ny Sar, her city.

“尤罗，”杨恩德里在他们驶过那个河流交汇处时吼道，“再说一次维斯特洛伊那些像母亲河罗伊达一样大的河。”

“Yollo,” shouted Yandry as the Shy Maid passed the point, “tell me again of those Westerosi rivers as big as Mother Rhoyne.”

“我不知道，”他吼回去。“七大王国没有一条河有她一半宽。”那条刚刚汇入的河流是一条他们刚驶过的河流的近亲，而他们之前驶过的河就已经有曼德尔和或者三岔河那么宽了。

“I did not know,” he called back. “No river in the Seven Kingdoms is half so wide as this.” The new river that had joined them was a close twin to the one they had been sailing down, and that one alone had almost matched the Mander or the Trident.

“这里是尼萨尔，在这里母亲河与其‘狂野的女儿’诺伊达会师了，”杨恩德里说，“但是要在她和其他的女儿们汇合后她才会达到她最狂野的样子。在达格湖，科伊达河流入，她是‘黑暗的女儿’，带来了从‘斧地’的金子和琥珀以及科霍尔森林的松果。再往南，母亲会遇见来自‘金色平原’‘微笑的女儿’赫茹露，在那里她们加入曾经屹立的克罗亚尼——由水路铺成和金子建房的节日之城。继续南下，接着再次往东奔流很久很长一段距离，最终流淌入赛尔胡露，隐匿河道于芦苇与乱流的‘害羞的女儿’。在那里母亲河罗伊达变的如此庞大，一个在其中心的人甚至无法看到她的两岸。你会看到的，我的小朋友。”

“This is Ny Sar, where the Mother gathers in her Wild Daughter, Noyne,” said Yandry, “but she will not reach her widest point until she meets her other daughters. At Dagger Lake the Qhoyne comes rushing in, the Darkling Daughter, full of gold and amber from the Axe and pinecones from the Forest of Qohor. South of there the Mother meets Lhorulu, the Smiling Daughter from the Golden Fields. Where they join once stood Chroyane, the festival city, where the streets were made of water and the houses made of gold. Then south and east again for long leagues, until at last comes creeping in Selhoru, the Shy Daughter who hides her course in reeds and withes. There Mother Rhoyne waxes so wide that a man upon a boat in the center of the stream cannot see a shore to either side. You shall see, my little friend.”

我会的，侏儒想，同时当他发现距船六码的地方有一道涟漪，在它浮上水面激起一股水流撞击了害羞小姐的侧舷时，他几乎要向莱莫尔指出。

I shall, the dwarf was thinking, when he spied a rippling ahead not six yards from the boat. He was about to point it out to Lemore when it came to the surface with a wash of water that rocked the Shy Maid sideways.

那是又一只乌龟，一只角质的巨龟，它深绿色的壳上盖着棕色的茂盛的水藓和黑色的脆壳软体动物。它抬起头发出一阵咆哮，它低沉单调的怒吼比任何提利昂听过的战号都要响。“我们受到了祝福，”伊西拉泪流满面地大叫，“我们受到了祝福，我们受到了祝福。”

It was another turtle, a horned turtle of enormous size, its dark green shell mottled with brown and overgrown with water moss and crusty black river molluscs. It raised its head and bellowed, a deep-throated thrumming roar louder than any warhorn that Tyrion had ever heard. “We are blessed,” Ysilla was crying loudly, as tears streamed down her face. “We are blessed, we are blessed.”

鸭子满不在乎，小格里夫也是，哈尔顿来到甲板询问骚动的事由……但是太晚了。那只巨型乌龟再一次消失在水底。“什么东西导致了刚才的巨响？”“半学士”问。

Duck was hooting, and Young Griff too. Haldon came out on deck to learn the cause of the commotion … but too late. The giant turtle had vanished below the water once again. “What was the cause of all that noise?” the Halfmaester asked.

“一只乌龟，”提利昂说。“一只比这条船都大的乌龟。”

“A turtle,” said Tyrion. “A turtle bigger than this boat.”

“那是他，”杨恩德里大叫。“这条河的河神。”

“It was him,” cried Yandry. “The Old Man of the River.”

为什么不是呢？提利昂笑了。在国王诞生之际总有神灵和奇迹显现。

And why not? Tyrion grinned. Gods and wonders always appear, to attend the birth of kings.