Chapter 第三十五章 琼恩（七）

JON

在七天的阴天和阵雪之后，太阳在将近中午的时候突破云层。一些雪堆超过了人的高度，事务官几乎铲了一整天的积雪才使得通道一如最初时干净。反光照亮了长城，每个缺口缝隙都闪耀着暗淡的蓝色。

The sun had broken through near midday, after seven days of dark skies and snow flurries. Some of the drifts were higher than a man, but the stewards had been shoveling all day and the paths were as clean as they were like to get. Reflections glimmered off the Wall, every crack and crevice glittering pale blue.

琼恩·雪诺在七百尺之上俯视着鬼影森林。一阵北风打着旋穿过下面的树，从顶端的枝条吹落羽毛般的雪花，有如冰霜的横幅。此外，一切静谧。毫无生机。但这并不能使他完全消除恐惧。他所害怕的并非活着的事物。所以即便如此寂静……

Seven hundred feet up, Jon Snow stood looking down upon the haunted forest. A north wind swirled through the trees below, sending thin white plumes of snow crystals flying from the highest branches, like icy banners. Elsewise nothing moved. Not a sign of life. That was not entirely reassuring. It was not the living that he feared. Even so …

太阳出来，雪业已停。大概这也是月相转变前我们唯一的机会，之后，那将又是一季。“Emmett**好他的新兵没有？”他告诉忧郁的艾迪，“我们需要一次护送，十名游骑兵，装备有龙晶武器。我需要他们准备好在一小时之内出发。”

The sun is out. The snow has stopped. It may be a moon’s turn before we have another chance as good. It may be a season. “Have Emmett assemble his recruits,” he told Dolorous Edd. “We’ll want an escort. Ten rangers, armed with dragonglass. I want them ready to leave within the hour.”

“是，大人，谁来指挥？”

“Aye, m’lord. And to command?”

“我亲自来。”

“That would be me.”

艾迪的嘴张地比平时小一点。“某人认为如果指挥官大人能待在安全温暖的长城南边会更好。这并非我自己要这样说，而是某人。”

Edd’s mouth turned down even more than usual. “Some might think it better if the lord commander stayed safe and warm south of the Wall. Not that I’d say such myself, but some might.”

琼恩微笑。“某人最好不要在我面前这么说。”

Jon smiled. “Some had best not say so in my presence.”

一阵疾风使得艾迪的斗篷劈啪作响。“还是下去吧，大人。这风似乎要把我们推下长城，我可从未学过如何飞行。”

A sudden gust of wind set Edd’s cloak to flapping noisily. “Best go down, m’lord. This wind’s like to push us off the Wall, and I never did learn the knack of flying.”

他们坐绞车回到地面。风刮地猛烈，一如老奶妈在琼恩幼时告诉他的故事里的冰龙般寒冷。沉重的笼子摇动着。笼子时时刻刻刮擦着长城，生成在阳光下光亮闪烁的透明的冰雨，有如尖利的玻璃碎片。

They rode the winch lift back to the ground. The wind was gusting, cold as the breath of the ice dragon in the tales Old Nan had told when Jon was a boy. The heavy cage was swaying. From time to time it scraped against the Wall, starting small crystalline showers of ice that sparkled in the sunlight as they fell, like shards of broken glass.

玻璃，琼恩沉思，也许在这里有用。黑城堡有自己的玻璃花园，正如临冬城的玻璃花园。依靠玻璃花园，我们甚至可以在深冬种植蔬菜。最好的玻璃来自密尔，可是一个上等的透明玻璃片的价值几乎与等重的香料无异，而绿玻璃和黄玻璃又不能达到如此效果。我们需要的是钱，有了足够的钱，我们可以在密尔找到学徒和工人，把他们带来这里，给他们提供自由以使他们传授技艺给一些我们的兄弟。这是实现这一计划的唯一方法。如果我们有钱，可事实恰恰相反。

Glass, Jon mused, might be of use here. Castle Black needs its own glass gardens, like the ones at Winterfell. We could grow vegetables even in the deep of winter. The best glass came from Myr, but a good clear pane was worth its weight in spice, and green and yellow glass would not work as well. What we need is gold. With enough coin, we could buy ’prentice glassblowers and glaziers in Myr, bring them north, offer them their freedom for teaching their art to some of our recruits. That would be the way to go about it. If we had the gold. Which we do not.

在长城底部，他发现白灵正在路边积雪里翻滚。这只巨大的白狼似乎喜爱新鲜的雪。当它看到琼恩，它立即朝琼恩飞奔而来。忧郁的艾迪问，“他和你同去？”

At the base of the Wall he found Ghost rolling in a snowbank. The big white direwolf seemed to love fresh snow. When he saw Jon he bounded back onto his feet and shook himself off. Dolorous Edd said, “He’s going with you?”

“是啊。”

“He is.”

“一只聪明的狼，和我？”

“A clever wolf, him. And me?”

“你不用去。”

“You’re not.”

“大人明智。白灵当然是更好的选择。我毫无利齿来撕咬野人。”

“A clever lord, you. Ghost’s the better choice. I don’t have the teeth for biting wildlings anymore.”

“如果诸神仁慈，我们不会遭遇任何野人。我需要灰马。”

“If the gods are good, we won’t encounter any wildlings. I’ll want the grey gelding.”

言语在黑城堡很快散去。当波文马尔锡踏步穿越院子来到琼恩面前时，艾迪仍在马舍为灰马配鞍。“大人，我希望你能再次考虑。新人同样可以在修士面前立下誓言。”

Word spread fast at Castle Black. Edd was still saddling the grey when Bowen Marsh stomped across the yard to confront Jon at the stables. “My lord, I wish you would reconsider. The new men can take their vows in the sept as easily.”

“修士属于新神，而旧神居住在森林里，信仰旧神的人在鱼梁木前立下誓言。你和我对此同样清楚。”

“The sept is home to the new gods. The old gods live in the wood, and those who honor them say their words amongst the weirwoods. You know that as well as I.”

“Satin来自旧镇，Arron和Emrick来自西境。旧神并非他们的信仰。”

“Satin comes from Oldtown, and Arron and Emrick from the westerlands. The old gods are not their gods.”

“我没有强求他们的信仰，他们可以信仰七神甚至红袍女的光之王。然而他们却选择了旧神”

“I do not tell men which god to worship. They were free to choose the Seven or the red woman’s Lord of Light. They chose the trees instead, with all the peril that entails.”

“哭泣者可能还在那里，小心点”

“The Weeping Man may still be out there, watching.”

“小树林在两小时骑乘之内，即便是雪天。我们也能在午夜之前回来。”

“The grove is no more than two hours’ ride, even with the snow. We should be back by midnight.”

“这太久了。毫不明智。”

“Too long. This is not wise.”

“不明智，”琼恩重复道，“但这却很必要。他们将发誓成为守夜人，加入数千年未被破坏过的兄弟联盟。誓言很重要，传统更重要。它们使我们紧密凝聚在一起，高贵和低贱，年轻和年老，平民和贵族。它们使得我们成为兄弟。”

“Unwise,” said Jon, “but necessary. These men are about to pledge their lives to the Night’s Watch, joining a brotherhood that stretches back in an unbroken line for thousands of years. The words matter, and so do these traditions. They bind us all together, highborn and low, young and old, base and noble. They make us brothers.” He clapped Marsh on his shoulder. “I promise you, we shall return.”

“是，大人，”Lord Steward说，“但当你发现哭泣者时，他的头会只是个挂在矛上头吗？你将进入黑夜。积雪在某些地方深及腰部。我看见你带了经验丰富的人，这很好，但是Black Jack Bulwer熟悉那里一草一木。就连班扬史塔克，你叔叔，他……”

“Aye, my lord,” said the Lord Steward, “but will it be as living men or heads on spears with your eyes scooped out? You will be returning through the black of night. The snowdrifts are waist deep in places. I see that you are taking seasoned men with you, that is good, but Black Jack Bulwer knew these woods as well. Even Benjen Stark, your own uncle, he—”

“我有他们所没有的东西，”琼恩回头吹声口哨。“白灵，到我这来。”这匹白狼摇摇背上的积雪然后小跑到琼恩边上。游骑兵四散让避，尽管Rory猛拉缰绳，他的母马还是嘶叫着逃开了。“长城是你的了，波文大人。”他执着马缰走过大门，走过长城下蜿蜒曲折的冰隧道。

“I have something they did not.” Jon turned his head and whistled. “Ghost. To me.” The direwolf shook the snow from his back and trotted to Jon’s side. The rangers parted to let him through, though one mare whinnied and shied away till Rory gave her reins a sharp tug. “The Wall is yours, Lord Bowen.” He took his horse by the bridle and walked him to the gate and the icy tunnel that snaked beneath the Wall.

在冰墙之后，树木高而静地挺立，如被厚厚的白披风所包裹。游骑兵和新兵形成队形后，白灵阔步到琼恩的马旁，停下嗅了嗅，他的呼吸在空气里结霜。“什么？”琼恩问，“那有人吗？”可他所目及的树林里空无一物，即便目及的距离并不远。

Beyond the ice, the trees stood tall and silent, huddled in the thick white cloaks. Ghost stalked beside Jon’s horse as the rangers and recruits formed up, then stopped and sniffed, his breath frosting in the air. “What is it?” Jon asked. “Is someone there?” The woods were empty as far as he could see, but that was not very far.

白灵快步冲向树木，滑向两株白松之间，消失在雪团之中。它想打猎，但猎什么呢？琼恩并不为它可能遭遇野人而担心。一匹白狼在白树之中，静如影，野人们永远不知道它将到来。他知道不必追赶它，白灵总会在琼恩需要时返回，不早不迟。琼恩轻踢马腹，其他人落在后面，马蹄踩碎软雪下的冰层。他们以平稳的速度向心树行进，长城在他们后面不断缩小。

Ghost bounded toward the trees, slipped between two white-cloaked pines, and vanished in a cloud of snow. He wants to hunt, but what? Jon did not fear for the direwolf so much as for any wildlings he might encounter. A white wolf in a white wood, silent as a shadow. They will never know he’s coming. He knew better than to go chasing him. Ghost would return when he wanted to and not before. Jon put his heels into his horse. His men fell in around them, the hooves of their garrons breaking through the icy crust to the softer snow beneath. Into the woods they went, at a steady walking pace, as the Wall dwindled behind them.

士卒松和哨兵树披上厚厚的白色外套，冰柱悬挂在光秃秃的阔叶树的棕色枝干上。琼恩派Tom Barleycorn走在前面为他们侦查，去往神木林的路已被行进过太多次而为人所熟悉。Big Liddle和Luke of Longtown在灌木丛中左右穿行，他们为队伍的侧翼提供警戒。所有人都是老道的游骑兵，配备有黑曜石和钢铁，战号挂在他们的鞍上，需要时便可吹响求助。

The soldier pines and sentinels wore thick white coats, and icicles draped the bare brown limbs of the broadleafs. Jon sent Tom Barleycorn ahead to scout for them, though the way to the white grove was oft trod and familiar. Big Liddle and Luke of Longtown slipped into the brush to east and west. They would flank the column to give warning of any approach. All were seasoned rangers, armed with obsidian as well as steel, warhorns slung across their saddles should they need to summon help.

其他人也很优秀，至少，在战斗中优秀，忠于弟兄。琼恩说不出在他们来长城前做过什么，但是他深信大部分人经历过如同黑披风般的黑暗。在这，他们是各种他所需要来支持他的人。他们拉起兜帽以对抗刺骨的寒风，一些人用围巾裹住他们的脸，藏起他们的面貌。即便这样，琼恩也能认出他们。他们每个名字都镌刻在他心里。他们是他的人，他的弟兄。

The others were good men too. Good men in a fight, at least, and loyal to their brothers. Jon could not speak for what they might have been before they reached the Wall, but he did not doubt that most had pasts as black as their cloaks. Up here, they were the sort of men he wanted at his back. Their hoods were raised against the biting wind, and some had scarves wrapped about their faces, hiding their features. Jon knew them, though. Every name was graven on his heart. They were his men, his brothers.

此行有六人和他们同去——有老有少，有壮实的有瘦弱的，有经验丰富的也有新手。六个人将立下誓言。Horse在鼹鼠村出生长大，Arron和Emrick来自仙女岛，Satin来自远在维斯特洛另一端的旧镇的妓院。他们所有人都是男孩。Leathers和Jax是成年人，已有四十岁，鬼影森林的子孙后代。他们是六十三个和琼恩雪诺带回到长城的野人中的其中两个，至少是唯一愿意穿上黑衣的两个。Iron Emmett说他们都准备好了，或者快准备好了。他和琼恩还有波文马尔锡轮流评估过每个人，然后将他们如此分配：Leathers， Jax 和 Emrick成为游骑兵，Horse成为工匠，Arron 和 Satin成为事务官。立下誓言的时刻到来了。

Six more rode with them—a mix of young and old, large and small, seasoned and raw. Six to say the words. Horse had been born and raised in Mole’s Town, Arron and Emrick came from Fair Isle, Satin from the brothels of Oldtown at the other end of Westeros. All of them were boys. Leathers and Jax were older men, well past forty, sons of the haunted forest, with sons and grandsons of their own. They had been two of the sixty-three wildlings who had followed Jon Snow back to the Wall the day he made his appeal, so far the only two to decide they wanted a black cloak. Iron Emmett said they all were ready, or as ready as they were ever going to be. He and Jon and Bowen Marsh had weighed each man in turn and assigned him to an order: Leathers, Jax, and Emrick to the rangers, Horse to the builders, Arron and Satin to the stewards. The time had come for them to take their vows.

Iron Emmett骑在队伍的前端，骑在一匹琼恩所见的最为丑陋的马上。那是一个看上去只有毛和蹄子的毛茸野兽。“有传言说昨晚Harlot’s Tower（注：妓女塔）有些麻烦，”士官长说。

Iron Emmett rode at the head of the column, mounted on the ugliest horse Jon had ever seen, a shaggy beast that looked to be all hair and hooves. “Talk is there was some trouble at Harlot’s Tower last night,” the master-at-arms said.

“是Hardin’s Tower。”琼恩说。六十三个和他从鼹鼠村返回的人里，十九个是女人和女孩。琼恩把她们安置在琼恩曾居住过的废弃塔楼里。十二个矛妇，她们有足够的能力为自己和其他年轻女孩提供防御以防止黑衣兄弟骚扰。正是这些她们不愿面对的男人给了Hardin’s Tower这个新的令人恼火的名字。琼恩不打算原谅这些玩笑。“三个愚蠢的醉汉把Hardin’s当成妓院。他们现在被关进了冰牢里，检讨他们自己的错误。”

“Hardin’s Tower.” Of the sixty-three who had come back with him from Mole’s Town, nineteen had been women and girls. Jon had housed them in the same abandoned tower where he had once slept when he had been new to the Wall. Twelve were spearwives, more than capable of defending both themselves and the younger girls from the unwanted attentions of black brothers. It was some of the men they’d turned away who’d given Hardin’s Tower its new, inflammatory name. Jon was not about to condone the mockery. “Three drunken fools mistook Hardin’s for a brothel, that’s all. They are in the ice cells now, contemplating their mistake.”

Iron Emmett做个鬼脸。“男人是人，誓言是话，而话语如风。你应该在那些女人旁边安排守卫。”

Iron Emmett grimaced. “Men are men, vows are words, and words are wind. You should put guards around the women.”

“而谁又看着这些守卫呢？”你什么都不懂，琼恩雪诺。他已经吸取过这个教训，耶哥瑞特是他的老师。如果他不能守住自己的誓言，他怎么能指望其他兄弟？但是把这些女野人视同儿戏亦充满危险。男人可以拥有女人，也可以拥有一把刀，耶哥瑞特曾告诉他，但是没有人能同时拥有两者。波文马尔锡并没有全错。Hardin’s Tower是个一触即发的炸药。“我打算再启用三个城堡。”琼恩说。“深湖居，黑貂厅和长车楼。他们都由自由民驻守，由我们的人管理。届时，长车楼将全是女人，总司令和总务长也会对她们束手无策。”他坚信会有男女混住发生，不过至少如此远的距离使这种事很难发生。

“And who will guard the guards?” You know nothing, Jon Snow. He had learned, though, and Ygritte had been his teacher. If he could not hold to his own vows, how could he expect more of his brothers? But there were dangers in trifling with wildling women. A man can own a woman, and a man can own a knife, Ygritte had told him once, but no man can own both. Bowen Marsh had not been all wrong. Hardin’s Tower was tinder waiting for a spark. “I mean to open three more castles,” Jon said. “Deep Lake, Sable Hall, and the Long Barrow. All garrisoned with free folk, under the command of our own officers. The Long Barrow will be all women, aside from the commander and chief steward.” There would be some mingling, he did not doubt, but the distances were great enough to make that difficult, at least.

“哪个可怜的傻子会得到那个管理机会呢？”

“And what poor fool will get that choice command?”

“我正骑行在那个傻子身后。”

“I am riding beside him.”

Iron Emmett脸上的表情混合着惊恐与幸福，甚于得到一大袋黄金。“我做了什么蠢事如此得罪你，大人？”

The look of mingled horror and delight that passed across Iron Emmett’s face was worth more than a sack of gold. “What have I done to make you hate me so, my lord?”

琼恩大笑道。“别害怕，你并不是一个人。我打算派忧郁的艾迪做你的副手和事务官。”

Jon laughed. “Have no fear, you won’t be alone. I mean to give you Dolorous Edd as your second and your steward.”

“这是矛妇们的荣幸。但如果可以的话，你还是把城堡赠予那个马格那比较好。”

“The spearwives will be so happy. You might do well to bestow a castle on the Magnar.”

琼恩的笑容消失了。“如果我能信任他的话我也许会。Sigorn把他父亲的死归咎于我，这令我很害怕。更糟的是，他只会给出命令而非接受命令。不要把Thenns和自由民混为一谈。就我所知，马格那在古语里是首领的意思，而Styr对于他的人来说更像是神。他的孩子和他是一丘之貉。我并非是要他们下跪，可他们并不服从我。”

Jon’s smile died. “I might if I could trust him. Sigorn blames me for his father’s death, I fear. Worse, he was bred and trained to give orders, not to take them. Do not confuse the Thenns with free folk. Magnar means lord in the Old Tongue, I am told, but Styr was closer to a god to his people, and his son is cut from the same skin. I do not require men to kneel, but they do need to obey.”

“是的，大人，但是你最好为马格那做点什么。如果你一直忽视他们，你会在Thenns那遇上麻烦。”

“Aye, m’lord, but you had best do something with the Magnar. You’ll have trouble with the Thenns if you ignore them.”

惹麻烦就是总司令的命，琼恩本想这样回答。他的鼹鼠村之行已为他带来足够多的麻烦，正如现在发生的那样，而那些女人仅仅是众多麻烦中的最小一部分。Halleck被证实如他所担忧的那般残忍，而且有一些黑衣兄弟对自由民恨到了骨子里。一个Halleck的追随者在院子里切掉一个工匠的耳朵，仿佛这一切只是那人在娱乐而已。他不得不尽快开放旧的堡垒，这样哈尔玛的人就可以派去驻守深湖居或者黑貂厅。尽管那些地方之前都还不适合人居住，Othell Yarwyck和他的工匠仍在尝试重建长夜堡。很多晚上琼恩雪诺都在想阻止史坦尼斯屠杀野人是否是一个严重的错误。我什么都不懂，耶哥瑞特，他想，也许永远也不会懂。

Trouble is the lord commander’s lot, Jon might have said. His visit to Mole’s Town was giving him plenty, as it happened, and the women were the least of it. Halleck was proving to be just as truculent as he had feared, and there were some amongst the black brothers whose hatred of the free folk was bone deep. One of Halleck’s followers had already cut off a builder’s ear in the yard, and like as not that was just a taste of the bloodshed to come. He had to get the old forts open soon, so Harma’s brother could be sent off to garrison Deep Lake or Sable Hall. Just now, though, neither of those was fit for human habitation, and Othell Yarwyck and his builders were still off trying to restore the Nightfort. There were nights when Jon Snow wondered if he had not made a grievous mistake by preventing Stannis from marching all the wildlings off to be slaughtered. I know nothing, Ygritte, he thought, and perhaps I never will.

距离树林仅有半里，红而长的秋日阳光倾泻在无叶的枝条间，把积雪染成粉色。骑手们在两个穿犹如戴了冰盔的岩石之间穿越冻结的溪流，然后跟随曲折的猎物踪迹行向东北。风吹起时，飞沫般的软雪占据了空气，阻隔了他们的视线。琼恩把围巾拉过口鼻，戴上披风的兜帽。“不远了，”他告诉其他人。没有人回答。

Half a mile from the grove, long red shafts of autumn sunlight were slanting down between the branches of the leafless trees, staining the snowdrifts pink. The riders crossed a frozen stream, between two jagged rocks armored in ice, then followed a twisting game trail to the northeast. Whenever the wind kicked up, sprays of loose snow filled the air and stung their eyes. Jon pulled his scarf up over his mouth and nose and raised the hood on his cloak. “Not far now,” he told the men. No one replied.

琼恩在看到Tom Barleycorn之前已经嗅到他的味道。或者是白灵嗅到了他的味道？最近琼恩常常觉得好像他和白灵共用一体，即便在清醒的情况下也是。这头大白狼最先出现，摇掉身上的雪。一会之后，Tom也到了，他轻声告诉琼恩：“树林里有野人。”

Jon smelled Tom Barleycorn before he saw him. Or was it Ghost who smelled him? Of late, Jon Snow sometimes felt as if he and the direwolf were one, even awake. The great white wolf appeared first, shaking off the snow. A few moments later Tom was there. “Wildlings,” he told Jon, softly. “In the grove.”

琼恩停下队伍。“他们有多少人？”

Jon brought the riders to a halt. “How many?”

“有9个。没有守卫。一些人像是死了或是睡着了。大部分看上去像女人。一个小孩，但那里同时也有巨人，我明确看到了。他们生了火堆，烟雾在林间升起。这真是愚蠢的行为。”

“I counted nine. No guards. Some dead, might be, or sleeping. Most look to be women. One child, but there’s a giant too. Just the one that I saw. They got a fire burning, smoke drifting through the trees. Fools.”

九个，而我有十七个人。虽然琼恩的人里仅有四个是青涩的男孩，可是，他没有巨人。

Nine, and I have seven-and-ten. Four of his were green boys, though, and none were giants.

然而琼恩并不打算退回长城。如果这些野人还活着，或许我们可以把他们带回去。如果他们都死了……这些尸体也有用。“我们步行前进，”他说道，轻轻下马。积雪没及脚踝。“Rory， Pate，你们看守马匹。”他本可以把这项任务交给新兵们，可新兵们迟早要浴血奋战。和平时一样。“散开，新月队形。我们从3个方向接近树林，你们把队友把持在自己的余光范围里，这样你们之间的间隙将不会变大。飞雪会隐蔽我们的行动，如果他们都没有发现我们，我们就不会有流血的风险。”

Jon was not of a mind to fall back to the Wall, however. If the wildlings are still alive, it may be we can bring them in. And if they are dead, well … a corpse or two could be of use. “We’ll continue on foot,” he said, dropping lightly to the frozen ground. The snow was ankle deep. “Rory, Pate, stay with the horses.” He might have given that duty to the recruits, but they would need to be blooded soon enough. This was as good a time as any. “Spread out and form a crescent. I want to close in on the grove from three sides. Keep the men to your right and left in sight, so the gaps do not widen. The snow should muffle our steps. Less chance of blood if we take them unawares.”

黑夜很快降临。当最后一丝太阳没入西边的树林时，光束消失的无影无踪。粉色的积雪重归纯白，当世界变得黑暗时，白色也没滤去。夜空变成有如那历经反复洗涤的旧披风般的褪色的灰，随后一颗暗淡的星星升起。

Night was falling fast. The shafts of sunlight had vanished when the last thin slice of the sun was swallowed beneath the western woods. The pink snow drifts were going white again, the color leaching out of them as the world darkened. The evening sky had turned the faded grey of an old cloak that had been washed too many times, and the first shy stars were coming out.

他瞄了下前面笼罩于暗红手状树叶下的鱼梁木的苍白树干。琼恩雪诺从背后的剑鞘里抽出长抓。他左右环顾，朝Satin和Horse轻轻点头示意，然后看着他们向前面的人转达这个命令。他们同时向树林发起冲锋，踢起地上的积雪。一片寂静，唯有呼吸的声音。白灵和他们一同奔跑，有如琼恩身旁的白色影子。

Ahead he glimpsed a pale white trunk that could only be a weirwood, crowned with a head of dark red leaves. Jon Snow reached back and pulled Longclaw from his sheath. He looked to right and left, gave Satin and Horse a nod, watched them pass it on to the men beyond. They rushed the grove together, kicking through drifts of old snow with no sound but their breathing. Ghost ran with them, a white shadow at Jon’s side.

鱼梁木在空地的边缘形成环状。它们有九株，大小和树龄相差无几。每棵树上都镌刻着脸，各不相同的脸。有的在微笑，有的在尖叫，还有一些在向他咆哮。火光之中，他们的眼睛看起来都是深黑，然而在白天，这些眼睛如血一般红。琼恩知道，就像白灵的眼睛那般。

The weirwoods rose in a circle around the edges of the clearing. There were nine, all roughly of the same age and size. Each one had a face carved into it, and no two faces were alike. Some were smiling, some were screaming, some were shouting at him. In the deepening glow their eyes looked black, but in daylight they would be blood-red, Jon knew. Eyes like Ghost’s.

树林中的营火是微小而可怜的东西，灰烬，余烬和少许断枝缓慢而多烟地燃烧。尽管那样，这营火也比它周围蜷缩的野人更有生命力。当琼恩踏出灌木丛时，仅有一人对他们的出现作出反映。那是一个小孩，哭嚎着仅仅抓住他母亲的烂披风。那位母亲乍一惊睁开眼。此时，游骑兵已经包围了这片树林，滑过苍白如骨的树，钢铁在黑色手套里闪着寒光，等待杀戮降临。

The fire in the center of the grove was a small sad thing, ashes and embers and a few broken branches burning slow and smoky. Even then, it had more life than the wildlings huddled near it. Only one of them reacted when Jon stepped from the brush. That was the child, who began to wail, clutching at his mother’s ragged cloak. The woman raised her eyes and gasped. By then the grove was ringed by rangers, sliding past the bone-white trees, steel glinting in black-gloved hands, poised for slaughter.

巨人最后注意到他们的存在。他之前在沉睡着，在营火旁片蜷缩一团，是孩子的哭泣惊醒了他。雪的声音掩盖住守夜人靴子的动静。巨人惊醒就好像是一块巨石有了生命，着实令人倒吸一口凉气。他蹲坐着哼气，用大如火腿的手揉揉双眼来消除睡意。直到他发现了Iron Emmett，Iron Emmett的剑在手中闪烁寒光。巨人立马咆哮着跃起，抄起一柄长柄重锤。

The giant was the last to notice them. He had been asleep, curled up by the fire, but something woke him—the child’s cry, the sound of snow crunching beneath black boots, a sudden indrawn breath. When he stirred it was as if a boulder had come to life. He heaved himself into a sitting position with a snort, pawing at his eyes with hands as big as hams to rub the sleep away … until he saw Iron Emmett, his sword shining in his hand. Roaring, he came leaping to his feet, and one of those huge hands closed around a maul and jerked it up.

白灵龇牙以示准备攻击。琼恩擎住白灵的颈项。“我们不打算在这里战斗。”他知道他的人可以毫无代价地击败巨人。流血，只会使野人陷入恐惧。最终野人全军覆没，而他的兄弟也将蒙受伤亡。“这里是神圣的地方，而我们只是——”

Ghost showed his teeth in answer. Jon grabbed the wolf by the scruff of the neck. “We want no battle here.” His men could bring the giant down, he knew, but not without cost. Once blood was shed, the wildlings would join the fray. Most or all would die here, and some of his own brothers too. “This is a holy place. Yield, and we—”

巨人再次咆哮，声音使树的枝叶颤动。巨人用重锤敲地，重锤的柄乃是六尺长的橡木树干，顶端有一块面包这么大的巨石。重锤落地的撞击使得大地晃动。其他野人迅速奔向自己的武器。

The giant bellowed again, a sound that shook the leaves in the trees, and slammed his maul against the ground. The shaft of it was six feet of gnarled oak, the head a stone as big as a loaf of bread. The impact made the ground shake. Some of the other wildlings went scrambling for their own weapons.

当Leathers发话时，琼恩雪诺已经做好准备掏出长抓。他的声音听起来粗哑刺耳，但琼恩听懂了这些古语，并觉得其简直有如天籁。Leathers说了很久。当他说完，巨人答复。巨人的声音听起来就像隆隆的轰鸣并充满咕隆，琼恩一个字也没听懂。Leathers指向树又说了些什么，接着巨人也指了指树，然后闭上嘴放下武器。

Jon Snow was about to reach for Longclaw when Leathers spoke, from the far side of the grove. His words sounded gruff and guttural, but Jon heard the music in it and recognized the Old Tongue. Leathers spoke for a long while. When he was done, the giant answered. It sounded like growling, interspersed with grunts, and Jon could not understand a word of it. But Leathers pointed at the trees and said something else, and the giant pointed at the trees, ground his teeth, and dropped his maul.

“搞定了，”Leathers说。“他们也不想战斗。”

“It’s done,” said Leathers. “They want no fight.”

“干得好。你给他说了些什么？”

“Well done. What did you tell him?”

“我说我们也信仰旧神，我们前来祈祷。”

“That they were our gods too. That we came to pray.”

“我们会祈祷的。大家都放下武器，今晚这里不会流血。”

“We shall. Put away your steel, all of you. We will have no blood shed here tonight.”

9个人，Tom Barleycorn曾告诉他，现在9个人都在那，但是2个已经死了，1个奄奄一息熬不到明天早上。剩下的6个包括一个母亲和孩子，两个老人，一个在战场受伤的Thenn，和一个硬足民，硬足民的光脚严重冻伤，琼恩扫了一眼便得出他已经无法行动的结论。琼恩意识到，他们来到这片树林时，大部分都对彼此陌生。当史坦尼斯击溃了曼斯雷德的军队，他们便逃入树林以躲过屠杀。他们在荒野漫游，在饥荒和寒冷中失去亲人和朋友。最终他们抵达这里，已经虚弱疲劳到无法继续逃荒。“神在这里，”其中一个老人说。“这是个再好不过的等待死亡降临的地方。”

Nine, Tom Barleycorn had said, and nine there were, but two were dead and one so weak he might have died by morning. The six who remained included a mother and child, two old men, a wounded Thenn in battered bronze, and one of the Hornfoot folk, his bare feet so badly frostbitten that Jon knew at a glance he would never walk again. Most had been strangers to one another when they came to the grove, he learned subsequently; when Stannis broke Mance Rayder’s host, they had fled into the woods to escape the carnage, wandered for a time, lost friends and kin to cold and starvation, and finally washed up here, too weak and weary to go on. “The gods are here,” one of the old men said. “This was as good a place to die as any.”

“长城距此仅有数小时路程，”琼恩说。“你们为何不去那里寻求庇护？其他野人都屈服了，甚至曼斯。”

“The Wall is only a few hours south of here,” said Jon. “Why not seek shelter there? Others yielded. Even Mance.”

野人相互交换眼神。最终有个人说，“我们听说，黑乌鸦们烧死了那些屈服的野人。”

The wildlings exchanged looks. Finally one said, “We heard stories. The crows burned all them that yielded.”

“甚至曼斯本人，”那个女人补充道。

“Even Mance hisself,” the woman added.

梅丽珊卓，琼恩想，你和你的红神现在还要为此事也给个说法。“那些愿意的人，我们欢迎他们加入到我们身边。黑城堡可以提供食物和庇护，长城可以为你们提供安全，使你们免受森林里游荡的鬼魂威胁。我发誓，不会有人来烧死你们”

Melisandre, Jon thought, you and your red god have much and more to answer for. “All those who wish are welcome to return with us. There is food and shelter at Castle Black, and the Wall to keep you safe from the things that haunt these woods. You have my word, no one will burn.”

“乌鸦的誓言，”女人抱孩子更紧了，“而谁又可以保证你能守誓？你到底是谁？”

“A crow’s word,” the woman said, hugging her child close, “but who’s to say that you can keep it? Who are you?”

“守夜人司令，临冬城艾德史塔克之子。”琼恩接着转向Tom Barleycorn。“叫Rory和Pate把马匹带来了。我不想在这哪怕多待一会。”

“Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, and a son of Eddard Stark of Winterfell.” Jon turned to Tom Barleycorn. “Have Rory and Pate bring up the horses. I do not mean to stay here one moment longer than we must.”

“如你所愿，大人。”

“As you say, m’lord.”

他们离开前做的最后一件事：即他们此行的目的。Iron Emmett唤出那几个新兵，当其余的人在一个敬畏的距离上观望时，这几个人跪在鱼梁木前。之后，那天最后的光亮消失了，天上的星星和林间微弱暗红的营火成了唯一的光源。

One last thing remained before they could depart: the thing that they had come for. Iron Emmett called forth his charges, and as the rest of the company watched from a respectful distance, they knelt before the weirwoods. The last light of day was gone by then; the only light came from the stars above and the faint red glow of the dying fire in the center of the grove.

六个人穿着厚重的黑色兜帽和黑斗篷，他们好似由影子雕刻而成。他们的声音聚集到一起，和无边的长夜相较显得无比藐小。“长夜将至，我从今开始守望。”他们说着誓言，在他们之前有成千上万的人曾这样说过。Satin的声音甜美得像歌，Horse的嗓音沙哑，Arron的声音则焦虑而尖锐。“至死方休。”

With their black hoods and thick black cowls, the six might have been carved from shadow. Their voices rose together, small against the vastness of the night. “Night gathers, and now my watch begins,” they said, as thousands had said before them. Satin’s voice was sweet as song, Horse’s hoarse and halting, Arron’s a nervous squeak. “It shall not end until my death.”

死亡会很远吗？琼恩雪诺单膝没入雪中。父亲的神啊，保护这些人吧，还有艾丽娅，我的小妹，无论她在哪。我祈求，让曼斯找到她然后把她安全地带给我吧。

May those deaths be long in coming. Jon Snow sank to one knee in the snow. Gods of my fathers, protect these men. And Arya too, my little sister, wherever she might be. I pray you, let Mance find her and bring her safe to me.

“我将不娶妻、不封地、不生子，”新兵们发誓，声音犹如在此回荡过无数沧桑。“我将不戴宝冠，不争荣宠。我将尽忠职守，生死於斯。”

“I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children,” the recruits promised, in voices that echoed back through years and centuries. “I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post.”

树木的神灵啊，给我力量让我也能遵守誓言吧，琼恩雪诺静静祈祷。给我智慧让我明白该做什么，也给我勇气让我去做那些事。

Gods of the wood, grant me the strength to do the same, Jon Snow prayed silently. Give me the wisdom to know what must be done and the courage to do it.

“我是黑暗中的利剑，”六个人说，琼恩觉得，他们的声音似乎愈发强壮和坚定。“长城中的守卫。我是抵御寒冷的烈焰，破晓时分的光线，唤醒死者的号角，守护王国的铁卫。”

“I am the sword in the darkness,” said the six, and it seemed to Jon as though their voices were changing, growing stronger, more certain. “I am the watcher on the walls. I am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men.”

守护王国的铁卫。白灵用鼻触触琼恩的肩膀，琼恩把手臂搭在他身上。它可以嗅出Horse没有洗过的臀部，Satin精心梳理过的胡须的甜腻的气味，难闻刺鼻的恐惧的味道，巨大的压倒性的麝香味。他能听到自己的心跳。可当他透过树林望向女人和孩子，两个老人，残疾的硬足民时，他看到的只有人。

The shield that guards the realms of men. Ghost nuzzled up against his shoulder, and Jon draped an arm around him. He could smell Horse’s unwashed breeches, the sweet scent Satin combed into his beard, the rank sharp smell of fear, the giant’s overpowering musk. He could hear the beating of his own heart. When he looked across the grove at the woman with her child, the two greybeards, the Hornfoot man with his maimed feet, all he saw was men.

“我将生命与荣耀献给守夜人，今夜如此，夜夜皆然。”

“I pledge my life and honor to the Night’s Watch, for this night and all the nights to come.”

琼恩雪诺最先起立。“起来你们就是守夜人的汉子了。”他向Horse伸出手拉他起来。

Jon Snow was the first onto his feet. “Rise now as men of the Night’s Watch.” He gave Horse a hand to pull him up.

起风了。是时候回去了。

The wind was rising. It was time to go.

回程比来时更漫长。尽管巨人有着那样巨大的腿，他的脚步却依然沉重，他总是停下用低悬的手臂和锤子踢起雪。女人和Rory同骑，她的孩子和Tom Barleycorn一起，老人们和Horse与Satin同骑。Thenn害怕马匹，尽管伤势严重，他还是愿意跛足而行。硬足民无法坐在马鞍上，他不得不像一袋麦子一样被捆在马背上。白脸干瘪的老太婆也被这样运输，他们已经无法醒来。

The journey back took much longer than the journey to the grove. The giant’s pace was a ponderous one, despite the length and girth of those legs, and he was forever stopping to knock snow off low-hanging limbs with his maul. The woman rode double with Rory, her son with Tom Barleycorn, the old men with Horse and Satin. The Thenn was frightened of the horses, however, and preferred to limp along despite his wounds. The Hornfoot man could not sit a saddle and had to be tied over the back of a garron like a sack of grain; so too the pale-faced crone with the stick-thin limbs, whom they had not been able to rouse.

他们对另外两具尸体也这么做，这让Iron Emmett感到费解。“它们只会拖慢我们的速度，大人，”他对琼恩说。“我们应该把它们烧掉。”

They did the same with the two corpses, to the puzzlement of Iron Emmett. “They will only slow us, my lord,” he said to Jon. “We should chop them up and burn them.”

“不，”琼恩说。“带上它们，我要用这些尸体。”

“No,” said Jon. “Bring them. I have a use for them.”

返程路上没有月光指引，只有零星的星星。世界黑白混杂。返程是一次冗长而缓慢无尽的跋涉。雪紧紧地附在靴子和背上，风使得松树发出嘎嘎的响声，斗篷在身后打旋拍打。琼恩瞄着头上红色的走兽，当琼恩一行在下面行进时他发现它们正在穿越大树无叶的枝干。The Thief，自由民如此称呼它。耶歌瑞特总是说偷取女人的最好时间是the Thief出现在Moonmaid之时。她却从没有告诉他什么是偷取巨人或是俩尸体的最好时间。

They had no moon to guide them home, and only now and then a patch of stars. The world was black and white and still. It was a long, slow, endless trek. The snow clung to their boots and breeches, and the wind rattled the pines and made their cloaks snap and swirl. Jon glimpsed the red wanderer above, watching them through the leafless branches of great trees as they made their way beneath. The Thief, the free folk called it. The best time to steal a woman was when the Thief was in the Moonmaid, Ygritte had always claimed. She never mentioned the best time to steal a giant. Or two dead men.

当他们再次看到长城时已接近拂晓。

It was almost dawn before they saw the Wall again.

当他们靠近时，哨兵吹响号角。从高处所传来的声音听起来好似巨大的深喉鸟的悲鸣，一声长音意为游骑兵返回。Big Liddle解开并吹响自己的战号以示回应。在大门前，他们不得不等待忧郁的艾迪拔开门闩转开铁条。当艾迪看到褴褛的野人队伍时，他努努嘴并盯着巨人。“巨人通过隧道前需要我们在隧道里抹油润滑吗，大人，或者我该派人拿来梯子？”

A sentry’s horn greeted them as they approached, sounding from on high like the cry of some huge, deep-throated bird, a single long blast that meant rangers returning. Big Liddle unslung his own warhorn and gave answer. At the gate, they had to wait a few moments before Dolorous Edd Tollett appeared to slide back the bolts and swing open the iron bars. When Edd caught sight of the ragged band of wildlings, he pursed his lips and gave the giant a long look. “Might need some butter to slide that one through the tunnel, m’lord. Shall I send someone to the larder?”

“噢，我觉得他大小合适。不用润滑。”

“Oh, I think he’ll fit. Unbuttered.”

他确实大小合适……在隧道里手和膝盖并用爬行。这个大块头，至少十四尺。甚至比巨人之王马格还大。马格死于这片冰的下方，死于唐纳诺伊的致命抵抗。守夜人失去了太多优秀的人。琼恩走到Leathers旁边。“你负责管理他，你也说古语。你要确保他能吃好并为他找个有火的温暖之处。你要和他待在一起，确保没人激怒他。”

So he did … on hands and knees, crawling. A big boy, this one. Fourteen feet, at least. Even bigger than Mag the Mighty. Mag had died beneath this very ice, locked in mortal struggle with Donal Noye. A good man. The Watch has lost too many good men. Jon took Leathers aside. “Take charge of him. You speak his tongue. See that he is fed and find him a warm place by the fire. Stay with him. See that no one provokes him.”

“是的。”Leathers有些犹豫，“大人。”

“Aye.” Leathers hesitated. “M’lord.”

琼恩安排好那些幸存的野人使他们的伤能得到充分照料。他希望热食和温暖的衣物可以使他们恢复，只不过硬足民可能会失去双脚。此外，尸体被他放进冰牢里。

The living wildlings Jon sent off to have their wounds and frostbites tended. Some hot food and warm clothes would restore most of them, he hoped, though the Hornfoot man was like to lose both feet. The corpses he consigned to the ice cells.

Clydas来了又走，当他把披风挂在门后时琼恩点了点头。白天来的一封信被放在了桌子上。东海望，或是影子塔，他发现时暗暗猜想。但封蜡是金色的，并非黑色，图案是燃烧的心里的宝冠雄鹿。史坦尼斯。琼恩拆开坚硬的封蜡，展平羊皮纸卷阅读。出自学士之手，国王之口。

Clydas had come and gone, Jon noted as he was hanging his cloak on the peg beside the door. A letter had been left on the table in his solar. Eastwatch or the Shadow Tower, he assumed at first glance. But the wax was gold, not black. The seal showed a stag’s head within a flaming heart. Stannis. Jon cracked the hardened wax, flattened the roll of parchment, read. A maester’s hand, but the king’s words.

史坦尼斯已经入驻深湖居，山地部落也加入了他。Flint， Norrey， Wull， Liddle，他们全部。

Stannis had taken Deepwood Motte, and the mountain clans had joined him. Flint, Norrey, Wull, Liddle, all.

我们也得到了其他帮助，最令人始料未及而受人欢迎的是来自熊岛的女儿的帮助。艾丽珊莫尔蒙，她被手下称作为She-Bear。她把战士们藏在单桅渔船里，在铁民们登陆时出其不意地展开袭击。葛雷乔伊的长船悉数被焚或是被占，船员不是被杀就是投降。船长，骑士，著名的战士，还有其他贵族用以换取赎金，剩下的人则被我直接吊死。

And we had other help, unexpected but most welcome, from a daughter of Bear Island. Alysane Mormont, whose men name her the She-Bear, hid fighters inside a gaggle of fishing sloops and took the ironmen unawares where they lay off the strand. Greyjoy’s longships are burned or taken, her crews slain or surrendered. The captains, knights, notable warriors, and others of high birth we shall ransom or make other use of, the rest I mean to hang …

守夜人发过誓不介入王国内的任何纷争。然而此刻，琼恩雪诺确实感到某种莫名的满足感。他继续读下去。

The Night’s Watch was sworn to take no side in the quarrels and conflicts of the realm. Nonetheless, Jon Snow could not help but feel a certain satisfaction. He read on.

随着胜利的消息传出，越来越多的北方人加入了我们。自由民，自由骑手，山区居民，佃农们，从狼林深处的人到磐石海岸为逃避铁民放弃村庄的人，从临冬城大门外战斗的幸存者到曾向霍伍德城、赛文城、Tallharts宣誓效忠的人们。当我书写这封信时，我们的力量已经达到5000人，我们的队伍日渐壮大。我听说卢斯波顿正倾其所有力量进军临冬城，在那里让他的私生子和你的小妹结婚，他一定会重建城堡使其恢复到最初的样子。而我们将向他进军。Arnolf卡史塔克和Mors安柏和我们一起。如果能的话我必将救回你妹妹，我也会为她找到一个比拉姆斯雪诺更好的婚配。你和你的兄弟们务必坚守长城直到我返回。

… more northmen coming in as word spreads of our victory. Fisherfolk, freeriders, hillmen, crofters from the deep of the wolfswood and villagers who fled their homes along the stony shore to escape the ironmen, survivors from the battle outside the gates of Winterfell, men once sworn to the Hornwoods, the Cerwyns, and the Tallharts. We are five thousand strong as I write, our numbers swelling every day. And word has come to us that Roose Bolton moves toward Winterfell with all his power, there to wed his bastard to your half sister. He must not be allowed to restore the castle to its former strength. We march against him. Arnolf Karstark and Mors Umber will join us. I will save your sister if I can, and find a better match for her than Ramsay Snow. You and your brothers must hold the Wall until I can return.

落款出自不同字迹。以光之王之名，史坦尼斯拜拉希恩，安达尔人，Rhoynar和先民之王，七国之君，兼全境守护。

Done in the Light of Lord, under the sign and seal of Stannis of House Baratheon, the First of His Name, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm.

那一刻琼恩把信放到一边，羊皮纸又自动卷起，好像它渴望于保守自己的秘密一样。他不知道他读这封信时到底什么感觉。无数战斗曾经在临冬城打响过，但是战斗总有一方会是史塔克家。“城堡只是一个空壳，”他喃喃道，“不再是临冬城了，只不过是临冬城的魂魄而已。”想到这令他悲痛，而且……

The moment Jon set the letter aside, the parchment curled up again, as if eager to protect its secrets. He was not at all sure how he felt about what he had just read. Battles had been fought at Winterfell before, but never one without a Stark on one side or the other. “The castle is a shell,” he said, “not Winterfell, but the ghost of Winterfell.” It was painful just to think of it, much less say the words aloud. And still …

他不清楚老鸦食会带多少人去打仗，也不知道Arnolf会带去多少剑。安柏家一半的人将由妓靥带领，在剥皮人的恐怖堡战斗，然而这些封臣们很大一部分力量都跟着罗柏去往南方再也没有回来。就算被毁，临冬城本身也能为占领它的人带来不可忽视的优势。若是劳勃拜拉希恩，想必他定当凭借其所著称的日夜兼程强行军迅速赶往并保卫城堡。他的兄弟也会如此无畏么？

He wondered how many men old Crowfood would bring to the fray, and how many swords Arnolf Karstark would be able to conjure up. Half the Umbers would be across the field with Whoresbane, fighting beneath the flayed man of the Dreadfort, and the greater part of the strength of both houses had gone south with Robb, never to return. Even ruined, Winterfell itself would confer a considerable advantage on whoever held it. Robert Baratheon would have seen that at once and moved swiftly to secure the castle, with the forced marches and midnight rides for which he had been famous. Would his brother be as bold?

不大可能。史坦尼斯是一个谨慎的指挥官，况且他的部队乃是部落自由民、南方骑士、国王的部队、王后的部队的大杂烩，伙着几个北方领主。他要么应当迅速进军临冬城，要么应当采取完全相反的策略——谨慎进军，琼恩想。可他并没有权利为国王谏言，不过……

Not likely. Stannis was a deliberate commander, and his host was a half-digested stew of clansmen, southron knights, king’s men and queen’s men, salted with a few northern lords. He should move on Winterfell swiftly, or not at all, Jon thought. It was not his place to advise the king, but …

他再次扫视史坦尼斯的来信。“如果能的话我必将救回你妹妹。”史坦尼斯竟也有如此柔情伤感，不过随后这种气氛即被残酷无情的其他部分所削弱，“如果能的话”，以及附加的内容“我也会为她找到一个比拉姆斯雪诺更好的婚配”但如果艾丽娅并没有在那被救回来呢？如果梅丽珊卓女士的火焰中所见为真？他的妹妹能真正逃离捕捉者吗？她会怎么做？艾丽娅从小敏捷机灵，到最后却终是一个小女孩，卢斯波顿也不是那种对如此大好机会毫不在乎的人。

He glanced at the letter again. I will save your sister if I can. A surprisingly tender sentiment from Stannis, though undercut by that final, brutal if I can and the addendum and find a better match for her than Ramsay Snow. But what if Arya was not there to be saved? What if Lady Melisandre’s flames had told it true? Could his sister truly have escaped such captors? How would she do that? Arya was always quick and clever, but in the end she’s just a little girl, and Roose Bolton is not the sort who would be careless with a prize of such great worth.

倘若波顿根本没有得到他妹妹？这场婚礼不过是为了诱惑史坦尼斯进入陷进的阴谋。至少就琼恩所知，虽然恐怖堡伯爵从未让艾德史塔克失望过，艾德却从未信任过他，信任过那低声细气的声音和那苍白的眼珠。

What if Bolton never had his sister? This wedding could well be just some ruse to lure Stannis into a trap. Eddard Stark had never had any reason to complain of the Lord of the Dreadfort, so far as Jon knew, but even so he had never trusted him, with his whispery voice and his pale, pale eyes.

一个瘦弱的小女孩在一匹濒死的马上，逃离着自己的婚姻。凭借着这些字句，他在北方放了曼斯雷德和六个矛妇。“年轻漂亮的女子，”曼斯曾说过。这个未被点燃的国王提供了一些名字，忧郁的艾迪完成了剩下部分，偷偷从鼹鼠村带走他们。这简直是疯狂的行为。当曼斯在琼恩面前时，他本可以出色地击倒曼斯。琼恩对这位塞外之王有着莫名的钦佩，虽然这个人是一个背誓者和变色龙。比之曼斯雷德，他却更不信任梅丽珊卓。然而现在，他信任曼斯他们，把希望寄托者他们身上。倾尽全力找到妹妹，哪怕守夜人不该有姐妹。

A grey girl on a dying horse, fleeing from her marriage. On the strength of those words he had loosed Mance Rayder and six spearwives on the north. “Young ones, and pretty,” Mance had said. The unburnt king supplied some names, and Dolorous Edd had done the rest, smuggling them from Mole’s Town. It seemed like madness now. He might have done better to strike down Mance the moment he revealed himself. Jon had a certain grudging admiration for the late King-Beyond-the-Wall, but the man was an oathbreaker and a turncloak. He had even less trust in Melisandre. Yet somehow here he was, pinning his hopes on them. All to save my sister. But the men of the Night’s Watch have no sisters.

当琼恩还是个在临冬城的小孩时，他的英雄是Young Dragon，那是个在14岁便征服多恩的年轻国王。不论私生子血统，也许也正是因为这一点，琼恩雪诺梦想成为一个拥有King Daeron的那般光荣的领袖，成为一个征服者。而现在，他已是成人，坐守长城。而他有的却尽是怀疑，他甚至不能征服当下。

When Jon had been a boy at Winterfell, his hero had been the Young Dragon, the boy king who had conquered Dorne at the age of fourteen. Despite his bastard birth, or perhaps because of it, Jon Snow had dreamed of leading men to glory just as King Daeron had, of growing up to be a conqueror. Now he was a man grown and the Wall was his, yet all he had were doubts. He could not even seem to conquer those.