Chapter 第七十章 女王的首相（巴利斯坦四）

THE QUEEN’S HAND

那个多恩的王子已经逝去三天了。

The Dornish prince was three days dying.

从灰穹嘶鸣而落的冷雨将砖道化作洪流，暗淡的黎明夜色掩照下，他咽下的最后一息。余火虽大都已被滂沱熄灭，哈兹卡Hazkar金字塔的灰烬里却依旧升腾起闷烧的缭绕。至于那座雷哥藏匿于黑暗之中的黑色巨约日赞Yherizan金字塔，看上去活像个缀满灼目橘黄宝石的肥婆。

He took his last shuddering breath in the bleak black dawn, as cold rain hissed from a dark sky to turn the brick streets of the old city into rivers. The rain had drowned the worst of the fires, but wisps of smoke still rose from the smoldering ruin that had been the pyramid of Hazkar, and the great black pyramid of Yherizan where Rhaegal had made his lair hulked in the gloom like a fat woman bedecked with glowing orange jewels.

巴利斯坦·赛尔弥爵士遥望着远端的残垣，深思着：或许众神终归还是有所聆听。若非甘露天降，弥林早已被这火势化作尘土。

Perhaps the gods are not deaf after all, Ser Barristan Selmy reflected as he watched those distant embers. If not for the rain, the fires might have consumed all of Meereen by now.

没有任何龙的迹象，他也不想看见。龙对于雨无爱。东方破晓之处的地平线上斜刺出一缕薄红。这又勾起了赛尔弥对受伤的第一滴血的往昔追忆。流血总比痛苦更快，无论伤口再深。

He saw no sign of dragons, but he had not expected to. The dragons did not like the rain. A thin red slash marked the eastern horizon where the sun might soon appear. It reminded Selmy of the first blood welling from a wound. Often, even with a deep cut, the blood came before the pain.

他偎依着栏杆而立在大金字塔的最高阶上，一如过往清晨巡视苍空，期待他的女王能和黄昏一样飘然而至。当他知晓来自于女王寝宫的那个王子的死讯，他对自己如是说：她绝不会抛弃我们，她离不开她的子民。

He stood beside the parapets of the highest step of the Great Pyramid, searching the sky as he did every morning, knowing that the dawn must come and hoping that his queen would come with it. She will not have abandoned us, she would never leave her people, he was telling himself, when he heard the prince’s death rattle coming from the queen’s apartments.

赛尔弥返回室内，雨线沿着他的白袍背部流淌，毯子和地面上留下了他湿滑的靴迹。昆汀·马泰尔的遗体依他之命陈列在女王的床上。他曾是骑士，以及多恩的亲王。能让他毙在他穿越半个世界来寻觅的床头也算种仁慈。寝具算是毁了——床间处处散发着血腥与焦糊，但赛尔弥认为丹妮莉丝会原谅的。

Ser Barristan went inside. Rainwater ran down the back of his white cloak, and his boots left wet tracks on the floors and carpets. At his command, Quentyn Martell had been laid out in the queen’s own bed. He had been a knight, and a prince of Dorne besides. It seemed only kind to let him die in the bed he had crossed half a world to reach. The bedding was ruined—sheets, covers, pillows, mattress, all reeked of blood and smoke, but Ser Barristan thought Daenerys would forgive him.

弥桑黛守在床边，她夜以继日的守着王子，试着理解任何他能表达出的需求；当他足够清醒能饮用时喂他水和罂粟花奶；聆听着他时不时咆哮出的少数几句呓语；当他沉寂时又为之读上故事；沉睡在他床边的靠椅上。赛尔弥爵士曾让女王的侍酒们来帮忙，但即使最勇敢的也被这烧伤之景所吓退。蓝衣仁者他们从未前来，虽然他催促了他们四次有余。或许他们早已骑着灰马逃匿了吧。

Missandei sat at the bedside. She had been with the prince night and day, tending to such needs as he could express, giving him water and milk of the poppy when he was strong enough to drink, listening to the few tortured words he gasped out from time to time, reading to him when he fell quiet, sleeping in her chair beside him. Ser Barristan had asked some of the queen’s cupbearers to help, but the sight of the burned man was too much for even the boldest of them. And the Blue Graces had never come, though he’d sent for them four times. Perhaps the last of them had been carried off by the pale mare by now.

小纳斯人觉察到他：“尊敬的阁下，王子现已经超脱了痛苦。他的多恩神坻以带他回故乡。看，他笑了。”

The tiny Naathi scribe looked up at his approach. “Honored ser. The prince is beyond pain now. His Dornish gods have taken him home. See? He smiles.”

你如何知晓？他没张口。若是龙把他吞噬掉了倒好。起码是个爽快的了断，而这……浴火是种可怕的死法。难怪地狱的一半是火焰。“盖好他。”

How can you tell? He has no lips. It would have been kinder if the dragons had devoured him. That at least would have been quick. This … Fire is a hideous way to die. Small wonder half the hells are made of flame. “Cover him.”

弥桑黛将被单盖过了王子的脸。“他会被怎么样，阁下？他离家是如此之遥远。”

Missandei pulled the coverlet over the prince’s face. “What will be done with him, ser? He is so very far from home.”

“我想他会返回多恩。”但如何？骨灰？那需要更多的火焰，而巴利斯坦早已不能忍受。我们必须将血肉分离下骨骼。用甲虫，而不是蒸煮。在维斯特洛，静默姐妹就会这么做。但这是奴隶湾，最近的一个静默姐妹也远在千里之外。“你该睡了，孩子，在你自己的床上。”

“I’ll see that he’s returned to Dorne.” But how? As ashes? That would require more fire, and Ser Barristan could not stomach that. We’ll need to strip the flesh from his bones. Beetles, not boiling. The silent sisters would have seen to it at home, but this was Slaver’s Bay. The nearest silent sister was ten thousand leagues away. “You should go sleep now, child. In your own bed.”

“恕我直言，阁下，您也一样。您也多久没合眼了。”

“If this one may be so bold, ser, you should do the same. You do not sleep the whole night through.”

已经许久了，孩子。自从三叉戟河畔。大学士派席尔曾告诉他：老年人不像年轻人一样需要那么多睡眠，但却不仅于此。他已经到了那个害怕一闭眼就再也无法醒来的岁数。换作他人或许寄希望于于睡梦中安详，但这决不该是御林铁卫的。

Not for many years, child. Not since the Trident. Grand Maester Pycelle had once told him that old men do not need as much sleep as the young, but it was more than that. He had reached that age when he was loath to close his eyes, for fear that he might never open them again. Other men might wish to die in bed asleep, but that was no death for a knight of the Kingsguard.

“长夜漫漫”他告诉弥桑黛，“总是事务繁杂，无论在此还是七国。但现在你已尽力了，孩子。休息下吧。”若诸神慈悲，愿你梦中无龙。

“The nights are too long,” he told Missandei, “and there is much and more to do, always. Here, as in the Seven Kingdoms. But you have done enough for now, child. Go and rest.” And if the gods are good, you will not dream of dragons.

待到女孩离去，老骑士掀起被单最后再看了眼昆汀·马泰尔的容貌，又或残存下的。太多的血肉被扯走以至于见骨。他的双眼浮肿。他该呆在多恩的。他该安于现状。不是谁都可以与龙共舞的。又一次把这孩子盖好，他寻思起是否有人为他的女王合眼，又或她横尸在多斯拉克海的高草之中，凝视天穹直到成为骨架。

After the girl was gone, the old knight peeled back the coverlet for one last look at Quentyn Martell’s face, or what remained of it. So much of the prince’s flesh had sloughed away that he could see the skull beneath. His eyes were pools of pus. He should have stayed in Dorne. He should have stayed a frog. Not all men are meant to dance with dragons. As he covered the boy once more, he found himself wondering whether there would be anyone to cover his queen, or whether her own corpse would lie unmourned amongst the tall grasses of the Dothraki sea, staring blindly at the sky until her flesh fell from her bones.

“不。”他高声道“丹妮莉丝没死。她骑龙而去。我亲眼见证。”他无数次重复过…但坚信于此却愈发艰难。她头发着火了，我也看见。她在燃烧…即便我没看见她滑落，还有太多人发誓目睹了。

“No,” he said aloud. “Daenerys is not dead. She was riding that dragon. I saw it with mine own two eyes.” He had said the same a hundred times before … but every day that passed made it harder to believe. Her hair was afire. I saw that too. She was burning … and if I did not see her fall, hundreds swear they did.

不经意间白昼已至。雨依旧下，东方的天空挂着个含糊的光影。而剃头者与此相伴而来。斯卡哈兹依旧他那套黑裙，护胫及塑形的护胸的装扮。他腋下的铜面具倒是新的——懒散吐舌的狼头。他以致敬的口吻道：“那，蠢货还是死了，是吗？”

Day had crept upon the city. Though the rain still fell, a vague light suffused the eastern sky. And with the sun arrived the Shavepate. Skahaz was clad in his familiar garb of pleated black skirt, greaves, and muscled breastplate. The brazen mask beneath his arm was new—a wolf’s head with lolling tongue. “So,” he said, by way of greeting, “the fool is dead, is he?”

“昆汀王子没能挺到清晨。”剃头者的知晓没让赛尔弥意外。金字塔内，言语似风。“御前会议被召集了吗？”

“Prince Quentyn died just before first light.” Selmy was not surprised that Skahaz knew. Word traveled quickly within the pyramid. “Is the council assembled?”

“他们等着女王之手的光临。”

“They await the Hand’s pleasure below.”

我可不是什么手，些许的他想咆哮道。我只是个骑士，女王的护佑者。此非吾欲。但女王出走国王被囚，总要有人主持大局，而巴利斯坦不信剃头者。“绿衣仁者方面有消息了么？”

I am no Hand, a part of him wanted to cry out. I am only a simple knight, the queen’s protector. I never wanted this. But with the queen gone and the king in chains, someone had to rule, and Ser Barristan did not trust the Shavepate. “Has there been any word from the Green Grace?”

“她还没回到城里。”斯卡哈兹曾反对派女祭司，而迦菈札·迦菈莉自己也抗拒任务。她允诺宁愿去寻求和平，但希札达哈·佐·洛拉克最好还是由智慧的专家去应付。巴利斯坦毫不退让，终归绿衣仁者弯头同意去尽力而为。

“She is not yet returned to the city.” Skahaz had opposed sending the priestess. Nor had Galazza Galare herself embraced the task. She would go, she allowed, for the sake of peace, but Hizdahr zo Loraq was better suited to treat with the Wise Masters. But Ser Barristan did not yield easily, and finally the Green Grace had bowed her head and sworn to do her best.

“城中如何？”赛尔弥问剃头者。

“How stands the city?” Selmy asked the Shavepate now.

“按你所命，所有城门均合拢填封。我们正通缉着任何线索或渊凯人留在城里的，并驱逐逮捕我们所遇见的。大部分都隐匿了起来。金字塔内，毫无疑问。忠诚无虑的将士守卫者城墙与高塔，静待来犯。两百来个贵族之后聚集在广场，在雨中站在他们的涂卡上要求谒见。他们要求释放哈兹达尔和我的死刑，以及你去宰了那些龙。他们被告知骑士专长于此。哈兹卡Hazkar金字塔的清理搬运还在继续。巨金字塔Yherizan和Uhlez的祭祀放弃了它们给那群龙。”

“All the gates are closed and barred, as you commanded. We are hunting down any sellswords or Yunkai’i left inside the city and expelling or arresting those we catch. Most seem to have gone to ground. Inside the pyramids, beyond a doubt. The Unsullied man the walls and towers, ready for any assault. There are two hundred highborn gathered in the square, standing in the rain in their tokars and howling for audience. They want Hizdahr free and me dead, and they want you to slay these dragons. Someone told them knights were good at that. Men are still pulling corpses from the pyramid of Hazkar. The Great Masters of Yherizan and Uhlez have abandoned their own pyramids to the dragons.”

巴利斯坦知晓这些。“那行凶的数目？”他问道，恐惧着答案。

Ser Barristan had known all that. “And the butcher’s tally?” he asked, dreading the answer.

“29。”

“Nine-and-twenty.”

“29？”这远糟于他的预期。鹰身女妖之子两天之前就宣战了。头个夜里是三具命案，第二天九个。但从9到29只用了一个晚上而已……

“Nine-and-twenty?” That was far worse than he could ever have imagined. The Sons of the Harpy had resumed their shadow war two days ago. Three murders the first night, nine the second. But to go from nine to nine-and-twenty in a single night …

“中午前就会突破30的。你怎么如此沮丧，老人？你还能期盼什么？鹰身女妖要释放哈兹达尔，所以他就派他的儿子们持刀上街。死者都是新面孔和剃头者，一如既往。一个是我手下，铜盔野兽。鹰身女妖留在尸体边的标记，不是画在行道上的粉笔就是墙上的划痕。在雨水冲刷掉之前，其中还出现标语：‘屠龙有理。’他们写道，还有‘哈格哈兹是英雄。’‘丹妮莉丝必须死。’也出现了。”

“The count will pass thirty before midday. Why do you look so grey, old man? What did you expect? The Harpy wants Hizdahr free, so he has sent his sons back into the streets with knives in hand. The dead are all freedmen and shavepates, as before. One was mine, a Brazen Beast. The sign of the Harpy was left beside the bodies, chalked on the pavement or scratched into a wall. There were messages as well. ‘Dragons must die,’ they wrote, and ‘Harghaz the Hero.’ ‘Death to Daenerys’ was seen as well, before the rain washed out the words.”

“血债…”

“The blood tax …”

“290块金块来自于每个金字塔，嗯”斯卡哈兹嘟囔着，“马上就被收来…但这点金钱损失会让鹰身女妖住手。只有血才会。”

“Twenty-nine hundred pieces of gold from each pyramid, aye,” Skahaz grumbled. “It will be collected … but the loss of a few coins will never stay the Harpy’s hand. Only blood can do that.”

“如你所说。”又是人质。若我默许，他会杀光他们全部。“再说多少遍也一样，还是不行！”

“So you say.” The hostages again. He would kill them every one if I allowed it. “I heard you the first hundred times. No.”

“女王之手，”斯卡哈兹厌恶的嘟囔着，“一个老女人的手，我记得，是褶皱又无力的。我希望丹妮莉丝尽快返回。”他放下了他的铜质狼面具。“你的会议将无穷无尽。”

“Queen’s Hand,” Skahaz grumbled with disgust. “An old woman’s hand, I am thinking, wrinkled and feeble. I pray Daenerys returns to us soon.” He pulled his brazen wolf’s mask down over his face. “Your council will be growing restless.”

“那是女王的御前会议，不是我的。”赛尔弥换上了个干的斗篷扣上了他的剑鞘，紧随剃头者下楼。

“They are the queen’s council, not mine.” Selmy exchanged his damp cloak for a dry one and buckled on his sword belt, then accompanied the Shavepate down the steps.

今早的柱厅没有请愿者。尽管他是名义上的首相，巴利斯坦不会在女王的缺席下开庭，也不会允许斯卡哈兹·莫·坎达克这么做。哈兹达尔怪异的龙椅已被巴利斯坦下令移走，但他也没把女王钟爱的枕席放回。取而代之的是一个巨大的圆桌置于厅正中，四周环绕高椅便于人们坐下相互交流。

The pillared hall was empty of petitioners this morning. Though he had assumed the title of Hand, Ser Barristan would not presume to hold court in the queen’s absence, nor would he permit Skahaz mo Kandaq to do such. Hizdahr’s grotesque dragon thrones had been removed at Ser Barristan’s command, but he had not brought back the simple pillowed bench the queen had favored. Instead a large round table had been set up in the center of the hall, with tall chairs all around it where men might sit and talk as peers.

当巴利斯坦踏下大理石阶，人们纷纷起立，斯卡哈兹剃头者站在他身侧。母亲之子马瑟伦的人出席，由自由兄弟团的司令赛门·斯崔普拜克带头。坚盾（团）新选了指挥官，叫做塔尔·托拉克的黑肤色盛夏群岛人。他们老的指挥官摩罗诺·尤斯·铎伯被传染病夺取了生命。灰虫子是忠诚的，由三位戴着尖头盔的阉人士官列席。风鸦团由两个经验丰富的佣兵代表，箭手尤金和满身伤疤的斧手鳏夫。他们两个据说在达里奥·纳哈里斯缺席后分享了指挥权。绝大部分女王的卡拉萨跟着哈戈和拉卡洛前往多斯拉克海去寻找她。但斜眼跛脚的仁慈的罗姆莫为那些留下的代言。

They rose when Ser Barristan came down the marble steps, Skahaz Shavepate at his side. Marselen of the Mother’s Men was present, with Symon Stripeback, commander of the Free Brothers. The Stalwart Shields had chosen a new commander, a black-skinned Summer Islander called Tal Toraq, their old captain, Mollono Yos Dob, having been carried off by the pale mare. Grey Worm was there for the Unsullied, attended by three eunuch serjeants in spiked bronze caps. The Stormcrows were represented by two seasoned sellswords, an archer named Jokin and the scarred and sour axeman known simply as the Widower. The two of them had assumed joint command of the company in the absence of Daario Naharis. Most of the queen’s khalasar had gone with Aggo and Rakharo to search for her on the Dothraki sea, but the squinty, bowlegged jaqqa rhan Rommo was there to speak for the riders who remained.

桌子对面坐着四个哈兹达尔王的前侍卫，巨人战士乔戈郝，碎骨者贝拉乔，会数数的卡马戎，以及斑点猫。赛尔弥无视了剃头者斯卡哈兹的拒绝，坚持让他们出席。，他们曾帮助过丹妮莉丝·坦格利安拿下这座城市，所以不该被遗忘。他们或许是血腥的屠夫和杀手，但这是他们表达忠诚的方式…对于哈兹达尔王，是的，也是对于女王的。

And across the table from Ser Barristan sat four of King Hizdahr’s erstwhile guardsmen, the pit fighters Goghor the Giant, Belaquo Bonebreaker, Camarron of the Count, and the Spotted Cat. Selmy had insisted on their presence, over the objections of Skahaz Shavepate. They had helped Daenerys Targaryen take this city once, and that should not be forgotten. Blood-soaked brutes and killers they might be, but in their own way they had been loyal … to King Hizdahr, yes, but to the queen as well.

最后壮汉贝沃斯蹒跚的进入了大厅。

Last to come, Strong Belwas lumbered into the hall.

那阉人满脸死气，就仿佛死亡曾亲吻过她一样。死亡瞄上了他。他看起来至少瘦了二十多公斤，他胸腹上负满了愈合的伤疤曾舒展平滑的暗棕色皮肤，现在松垮褶皱的挂在他身上，垂垂摇晃，好似三倍有余的长袍。他步履艰难，看上去有点迟疑。

The eunuch had looked death in the face, so near he might have kissed her on the lips. It had marked him. He looked to have lost two stone of weight, and the dark brown skin that had once stretched tight across a massive chest and belly, crossed by a hundred faded scars, now hung on him in loose folds, sagging and wobbling, like a robe cut three sizes too large. His step had slowed as well, and seemed a bit uncertain.

即使如此，他的出现也让老骑士欣喜。他曾与壮汉贝沃斯一同跨越了半个世界，他知道他可以依赖于这人，正所谓不打不相识。“贝沃斯。你能加入我们真让人欣喜”

Even so, the sight of him gladdened the old knight’s heart. He had once crossed the world with Strong Belwas, and he knew he could rely on him, should all this come to swords. “Belwas. We are pleased that you could join us.”

“白胡子，”贝沃斯笑道，“洋葱和肝在哪？壮汉贝沃斯已不复当年，他必须进食，再变强壮。有人让壮汉贝沃斯生恙，某人必须死。”

“Whitebeard.” Belwas smiled. “Where is liver and onions? Strong Belwas is not so strong as before, he must eat, get big again. They made Strong Belwas sick. Someone must die.”

某人会的，或许，还不止一位。“做吧，老朋友，”当贝沃斯坐下背过双手，巴利斯坦继续道，“昆汀·马泰尔今早离世了，黎明之前。”

Someone will. Many someones, like as not. “Sit, my friend.” When Belwas sat and crossed his arms, Ser Barristan went on. “Quentyn Martell died this morning, just before the dawn.”

鳏夫笑道，“龙骑士。”

The Widower laughed. “The dragonrider.”

“蠢货，我这么叫他。”赛门·斯崔普拜克说

“Fool, I call him,” said Symon Stripeback.

不，只是个男孩。巴利斯坦忘不了他自己年轻时的愚蠢，“请尊重亡者，王子为了他的行为付出了恐怖的代价。”

No, just a boy. Ser Barristan had not forgotten the follies of his own youth. “Speak no ill of the dead. The prince paid a ghastly price for what he did.”

“那其他那些多恩人呢？”塔尔·托拉克问到，

“And the other Dornish?” asked Tal Taraq.

“作为囚犯，目前。”没有一个多恩人做出了反抗。当铜首守卫找到他时，阿奇博尔德·伊伦伍德轻抚着他烧焦冒烟的王子的身躯，他烧焦的双手可以为证。他曾尝试帮昆汀·马泰尔扑灭那吞天的火焰。格里斯·郡克沃特持剑站在他们旁，但当蝗虫们出现，他就缴械了。“他们关在一起。”

“Prisoners, for the nonce.” Neither of the Dornishmen had offered any resistance. Archibald Yronwood had been cradling his prince’s scorched and smoking body when the Brazen Beasts had found him, as his burned hands could testify. He had used them to beat out the flames that had engulfed Quentyn Martell. Gerris Drinkwater was standing over them with sword in hand, but he had dropped the blade the moment the locusts had appeared. “They share a cell.”

“把他们一起绞死，”赛门·斯崔普拜克说，“他们释放了两条巨龙到城里。”

“Let them share a gibbet,” said Symon Stripeback. “They unleashed two dragons on the city.”

“打开牢门，给他们武器，”斑点猫怂恿着“我乐意在全弥林人的欢呼中结果了他们。”

“Open the pits and give them swords,” urged the Spotted Cat. “I will kill them both as all Meereen shouts out my name.”

“牢门不会开启，”赛尔弥说，“血腥与嘈杂只会引来巨龙。”

“The fighting pits will remain closed,” said Selmy. “Blood and noise would only serve to call the dragons.”

“或许三条都会？”马瑟伦建议到，“黑色的那条来过一次，为何不会再把女王又一次送回来？”

“All three, perhaps,” suggested Marselen. “The black beast came once, why not again? This time with our queen.”

或许没有。倘若巨龙归来弥林，却无丹妮莉丝的驾驭，城市必将陷于火焰与血泊，对此巴利斯坦毫不怀疑。坐在这桌上的每一位必将相互刀戎相见。虽然她还年轻，但却是唯一维系着大家的纽带。

Or without her. Should Drogon return to Meereen without Daenerys mounted on his back, the city would erupt in blood and flame, of that Ser Barristan had no doubt. The very men sitting at this table would soon be at dagger points with one another. A young girl she might be, but Daenerys Targaryen was the only thing that held them all together.

“女王将在她想的时候回归。”巴利斯坦说，“我们赶了一千只羊到Daznak的深穴，将Ghrazz的用阉牛填满，黄金穴则用那个希兹达尔·佐·洛拉克用他搜集来的野兽。”尽管所有的巨龙似乎都更偏爱绵羊肉，当他们饥饿时回到Daznak的深穴。一旦有一只开始吃人，无论在哪，巴利斯坦必然有所耳闻。自从英雄的哈格哈兹以后，唯一一个被巨龙杀死的弥林人是个愚蠢的奴隶，当他试图阻止雷戈把巢穴安置在Hazkar金字塔顶时。“我们还有要事要商议。我已派出绿衣仁者去渊凯人那边协议释放我们的人质。我希望她中午前带着他们的答复回来。”

“Her Grace will return when she returns,” said Ser Barristan. “We have herded a thousand sheep into the Daznak’s Pit, filled the Pit of Ghrazz with bullocks, and the Golden Pit with beasts that Hizdahr zo Loraq had gathered for his games.” Thus far both dragons seemed to have a taste for mutton, returning to Daznak’s whenever they grew hungry. If either one was hunting man, inside or outside the city, Ser Barristan had yet to hear of it. The only Meereenese the dragons had slain since Harghaz the Hero had been the slavers foolish enough to object when Rhaegal attempted to make his lair atop the pyramid of Hazkar. “We have more pressing matters to discuss. I have sent the Green Grace to the Yunkishmen to make arrangements for the release of our hostages. I expect her back by midday with their answer.”

“含混的话语，”鳏夫说，“风鸦团了解渊凯人。他们的舌头好似蠕虫，说的话总是似是而非。绿衣仁者必然带着这样的含混回来，而非确切的答案。”

“With words,” said the Widower. “The Stormcrows know the Yunkai’i. Their tongues are worms that wriggle this way or that. The Green Grace will come back with worm words, not the captain.”

“请容我提醒女王之手，贤主议会也同样扣押着我们的英雄。”灰虫子说到，“还有骏马领主乔戈，女王的血盟卫。”

“If it pleases the Queen’s Hand to recall, the Wise Masters hold our Hero too,” said Grey Worm. “Also the horselord Jhogo, the queen’s own blood rider.”

“她血之血，”罗姆莫同意道，“他必须被释放，卡拉萨的荣誉不能玷污。”

“Blood of her blood,” agreed the Dothraki Rommo. “He must be freed. The honor of the khalasar demands it.”

“他会被释放，”巴利斯坦说，“但我们先要等绿衣仁者能达成协议——”

“He shall be freed,” said Ser Barristan, “but first we must needs wait and see if the Green Grace can accomplish—”

斯卡哈兹剃头者拳头猛砸桌面，“绿衣仁者带不回任何东西。她甚至可能现在就在和渊凯人密谋什么。妥协，你是说？达成妥协？什么样的妥协？”

Skahaz Shavepate slammed his fist upon the table. “The Green Grace will accomplish nothing. She may be conspiring with the Yunkai’i even as we sit here. Arrangements, did you say? Make arrangements? What sort of arrangements?”

“赎金，”巴利斯坦说，“每个人都按赎金支付。”

“Ransom,” said Ser Barristan. “Each man’s weight in gold.”

“ 贤主议会才不需要我们的金子，阁下。”马瑟伦说，“他们比你的任何一个维斯特洛领主都富裕。”

“The Wise Masters do not need our gold, ser,” said Marselen. “They are richer than your Westerosi lords, every one.”

“他们的佣兵将会垂涎这些金子，人质对他们来说算什么？倘若渊凯人拒绝，这就将分化开他们和他们的佣兵团。”或如我所望，迦菈莉将自己建议的策反成功。他自己是决不会考虑这样的行为。在君临，贿赂就是小指头的产业，而分化离间则是瓦里斯大人的职责。他自己的职务就简单坦率多了。尽管只有11岁，然而米珊德却聪慧犹如在座的诸位的半数，更是谋略超越了大部分。“我已建议绿衣仁者只有当所有的渊凯指挥官愿意聆听时才呈请提议。”

“Their sellswords will want the gold, though. What are the hostages to them? If the Yunkishmen refuse, it will drive a blade between them and their hirelings.” Or so I hope. It had been Missandei who suggested the ploy to him. He would never have thought of such a thing himself. In King’s Landing, bribes had been Littlefinger’s domain, whilst Lord Varys had the task of fostering division amongst the crown’s enemies. His own duties had been more straightforward. Eleven years of age, yet Missandei is as clever as half the men at this table and wiser than all of them. “I have instructed the Green Grace to present the offer only when all of the Yunkish commanders have assembled to hear it.”

“即使这样，他们依旧会拒绝。”赛门·斯崔普拜克坚持，“他们将会要求巨龙被屠，国王复位。”

“They will refuse, even so,” insisted Symon Stripeback. “They will say they want the dragons dead, the king restored.”

“我祈祷你是错的，”而且我害怕真如你所说。

“I pray that you are wrong.” And fear that you are right.

“你的神灵远在他方，祖父大人。”鳏夫说，“我不认为你的祈祷管用。当渊凯人把那老女人在你面前宰了，那又怎么办？”

“Your gods are far away, Ser Grandfather,” said the Widower. “I do not think they hear your prayers. And when the Yunkai’i send back the old woman to spit in your eye, what then?”

“血与火。”巴利斯坦·赛尔弥爵士轻语到，声音细微难闻。

“Fire and blood,” said Barristan Selmy, softly, softly.

接下来是个漫长的冷场，直到壮汉贝沃斯挺起他的腹部说道，“总比肝和洋葱好，”斯卡哈兹剃头者目光穿过他的狼头面具说到，“你宁愿打破哈兹达尔王的和平吗，老头？”

For a long moment no one spoke. Then Strong Belwas slapped his belly and said, “Better than liver and onions,” and Skahaz Shavepate stared through the eyes of his wolf’s head mask and said, “You would break King Hizdahr’s peace, old man?”

“我宁愿如此。”曾经，几度岁月，一位王子命名他为“无畏的”巴利斯坦；几多风流，那份年少依旧藏于心中。“在曾今金字塔顶鹰身女妖站立之处，我们立下灯塔。用浸透油的干木来防止雨水的干扰。一旦时机已至，而我希望永不，灯塔将被点亮。火焰将是你倾开我们的大门进攻的信号。你们每一位都重任在肩，所以诸位需时刻全力以赴，枕戈待旦。这将是你死我活的战斗。”他举手对他等待中的侍从作信号。“我有一些地图以标注恶魔们的分布情况，包括他们的营地，他们的器械。如果我们击败那些奴隶，那些佣兵团将抛弃他们。我知道还有疑虑和困惑，但请搁置一旁。一旦会议结束，我们将团结一心，协同作战。”

“I would shatter it.” Once, long ago, a prince had named him Barristan the Bold. A part of that boy was in him still. “We have built a beacon atop the pyramid where once the Harpy stood. Dry wood soaked with oil, covered to keep the rain off. Should the hour come, and I pray that it does not, we will light that beacon. The flames will be your signal to pour out of our gates and attack. Every man of you will have a part to play, so every man must be in readiness at all times, day or night. We will destroy our foes or be destroyed ourselves.” He raised a hand to signal to his waiting squires. “I have had some maps prepared to show the dispositions of our foes, their camps and siege lines and trebuchets. If we can break the slavers, their sellswords will abandon them. I know you will have concerns and questions. Voice them here. By the time we leave this table, all of us must be of a single mind, with a single purpose.”

“那最好预备点食物和水。”赛门·斯崔普拜克建议到，“这会有的开了。”

“Best send down for some food and drink, then,” suggested Symon Stripeback. “This will take a while.”

结果花费了整个上午以及大半个下午。佣兵团长和代表们在地图前争论各种优点与缺点仿若渔妇争抢一娄螃蟹：佣兵团小股的弓手究竟有多强劲；大象们是否该投入一线冲击渊凯人的阵线，拟或留为预备队，以作冲锋引领之用；骑兵究竟该布在两翼还是作为先锋。

It took the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon. The captains and commanders argued over the maps like fishwives over a bucket of crabs. Weak points and strong points, how to best employ their small company of archers, whether the elephants should be used to break the Yunkish lines or held in reserve, who should have the honor of leading the first advance, whether their horse cavalry was best deployed on the flanks or in the vanguard.

巴利斯坦让人们畅所欲言。塔尔·托拉克认为一旦突破了封锁，他们就该直指渊凯城。一旦突袭之，渊凯将毫无设防，而渊凯大军别无选择只有回师救援。斑点猫提议让敌军选出个代表与他一对一决斗。壮汉贝沃斯甚是赞成，只是认为该披挂上阵是他而非斑点猫。会数数的卡马戎提议将船链锁合绑在河边，用河水将300勇士运到渊凯大军之后突袭。所有人都赞同无垢者是最精良的部队，但如何部署他们却充满分歧。鳏夫想要用他们直接撕裂渊凯大军阵线。马瑟伦则认为该将他们部署在阵中压阵。赛门·斯崔普拜克希望将其一划为三以应对三大佣兵团。他的自由兄弟们虽既勇敢又渴望战斗，他争辩道，但倘若没有无垢者的协助，他恐怕在面对经验丰富的佣兵的时候，他那非纯种的部队会丧失纪律。灰虫子只说无论命令如何，无垢者都将遵从。

Ser Barristan let each man speak his mind. Tal Toraq thought that they should march on Yunkai once they had broken through the lines; the Yellow City would be almost undefended, so the Yunkai’i would have no choice but to lift the siege and follow. The Spotted Cat proposed to challenge the enemy to send forth a champion to face him in single combat. Strong Belwas liked that notion but insisted he should fight, not the Cat. Camarron of the Count put forth a scheme to seize the ships tied up along the riverfront and use the Skahazadhan to bring three hundred pit fighters around the Yunkish rear. Every man there agreed that the Unsullied were their best troops, but none agreed on how they should be deployed. The Widower wanted to use the eunuchs as an iron fist to smash through the heart of the Yunkish defenses. Marselen felt they would be better placed at either end of the main battle line, where they could beat back any attempt by the foe to turn their flanks. Symon Stripeback wanted them split into three and divided amongst the three companies of freedmen. His Free Brothers were brave and eager for the fight, he claimed, but without the Unsullied to stiffen them he feared his unblooded troops might not have the discipline to face battle-seasoned sellswords by themselves. Grey Worm said only that the Unsullied would obey, whatever might be asked of them.