Ⅲ 冰雨的风暴 Chapter46 山姆威尔

SAMWELL

白树村，山姆心想，拜托，这里是白树村。他记得白树村，白树村在他找到的古老地图上，北行途中曾经路过。如果这个村子是白树村，他就知道他们在哪儿了。拜托，这里一定是白树村。愿望如此强烈，他甚至暂时忘了自己的脚，忘了小腿和后腰上的疼痛，忘了几乎冻到失去知觉的手指，忘了莫尔蒙总司令、卡斯特、尸鬼和异鬼。白树村，山姆喃喃祈祷，不管什么神，愿意听就成。

Whitetree, Sam thought. Please, let this be Whitetree. He remembered Whitetree. Whitetree was on the maps he’d drawn, on their way north. If this village was Whitetree, he knew where they were. Please, it has to be. He wanted that so badly that he forgot his feet for a little bit, he forgot the ache in his calves and his lower back and the stiff frozen fingers he could scarcely feel. He even forgot about Lord Mormont and Craster and the wights and the Others. Whitetree, Sam prayed, to any god that might be listening.

然而所有野人村庄看起来都很像。一棵巨大的鱼梁木生在这个村子中央……但一棵白树并不代表白树村，白树村的鱼梁木是否比这棵更大呢？也许他记错了。那张长而悲哀的脸刻在苍白如骨的树干上，树液从它眼睛里渗出、凝固，仿如红色的泪水。我们北上时，它看起来是这样吗？山姆记不清楚。

All wildling villages looked much alike, though. A huge weirwood grew in the center of this one … but a white tree did not mean Whitetree, necessarily. Hadn’t the weirwood at Whitetree been bigger than this one? Maybe he was remembering it wrong. The face carved into the bone pale trunk was long and sad; red tears of dried sap leaked from its eyes. Was that how it looked when we came north? Sam couldn’t recall.

树的周围矗立着几幢茅草顶的单房屋子，一栋覆满苔藓的木头长厅，一口石井，一个羊圈……但没有羊，更没有人。野人们都去了霜雪之牙，加入曼斯·雷德的队伍，并带走了一切东西，除开房屋本身——山姆对此感激不尽。夜晚即将来临，而他终于可以重新睡在屋檐底下。他好疲惫，好像走了半辈子的路，靴子片片脱落，脚上所有的水泡都已破裂，变成老茧，老茧下又起了新的水泡，而脚趾头开始生冻疮。

Around the tree stood a handful of one-room hovels with sod roofs, a longhall built of logs and grown over with moss, a stone well, a sheepfold … but no sheep, nor any people. The wildlings had gone to join Mance Rayder in the Frostfangs, taking all they owned except their houses. Sam was thankful for that. Night was coming on, and it would be good to sleep beneath a roof for once. He was so tired. It seemed as though he had been walking half his life. His boots were falling to pieces, and all the blisters on his feet had burst and turned to callus, but now he had new blisters under the callus, and his toes were getting frostbitten.

但山姆知道，如果不走，就只有死路一条。吉莉产后仍然虚弱，还抱着孩子，她比他更需要那匹马。另外一匹在离开卡斯特堡垒后的第三天就没了。可怜的家伙，本来已饿得半死，能支撑这么久其实是个奇迹，也许正是山姆的体重压垮了它罢。他们可以尝试共骑一匹马，但他担心同样的事情再次发生。我这胖子最好还是走路。

But it was either walk or die, Sam knew. Gilly was still weak from childbirth and carrying the babe besides; she needed the horse more than he did. The second horse had died on them three days out from Craster’s Keep. It was a wonder she lasted that long, poor half-starved thing. Sam’s weight had probably done for her. They might have tried riding double, but he was afraid the same thing would happen again. It’s better that I walk.

山姆让吉莉留在长厅里生火，自己则到附近小屋里探察一番。她连生火都比他在行，他自己好像从来无法点燃木柴，上次，他试图用铁和石头打出火星，结果却被自己的匕首割伤。吉莉替他包扎好之后，手指变得僵硬疼痛，比原先更为笨拙。他知道现在是清洗伤口、更换绷带的时候了，但他害怕看到伤口。况且天气如此寒冷，他痛恨摘手套。

Sam left Gilly in the longhall to make a fire while he poked his head into the hovels. She was better at making fires; he could never seem to get the kindling to catch, and the last time he’d tried to strike a spark off flint and steel he managed to cut himself on his knife. Gilly bound up the gash for him, but his hand was stiff and sore, even clumsier than it had been before. He knew he should wash the wound and change the binding, but he was afraid to look at it. Besides, it was so cold that he hated taking off his gloves.

山姆不知自己能在屋里找到什么。也许野人们留下了一点食物，好歹得瞧一瞧。北上途中，琼恩就被分到任务，搜查白树村的屋子。在一栋小屋中，山姆听见黑暗角落里传来老鼠窸窸窣窣的声音，除此之外别无他物，只有干稻草堆、陈腐的气味和排烟口下的炭灰。

Sam did not know what he hoped to find in the empty houses. Maybe the wildlings had left some food behind. He had to take a look. Jon had searched the huts at Whitetree, on their way north. Inside one hovel Sam heard a rustling of rats from a dark corner, but otherwise there was nothing in any of them but old straw, old smells, and some ashes beneath the smoke hole.

他回到鱼梁木旁，端详了一会儿那张雕刻的脸。这不是曾经见过的那张脸，他承认，这棵树不及白树村那棵一半大。它的红眼睛里渗出血色的汁液，他也不记得从前那棵是这样。但不管怎么说，山姆笨手笨脚地跪下来。“远古诸神，请听我的祈祷。七神是我父亲的神祗，但我加入守夜人军团时，是面对着你们发下誓言的。请帮帮忙吧，我们又冷又饿，很可能还会迷路。我……我不知现在该信仰什么神，但……假如你们真的存在，请帮帮我们吧，吉莉刚生下一个小婴儿。”他只能想出这些话。夜色渐浓，鱼梁木的树叶发出轻微的瑟瑟声，好似上千只血手在挥舞。琼恩的神是否听见了他的祈祷呢？一切都不清楚。

He turned back to the weirwood and studied the carved face a moment. It is not the face we saw, he admitted to himself. The tree’s not half as big as the one at Whitetree. The red eyes wept blood, and he didn’t remember that either. Clumsily, Sam sank to his knees. “Old gods, hear my prayer. The Seven were my father’s gods but I said my words to you when I joined the Watch. Help us now. I fear we might be lost. We’re hungry too, and so cold. I don’t know what gods I believe in now, but … please, if you’re there, help us. Gilly has a little son.” That was all that he could think to say. The dusk was deepening, the leaves of the weirwood rustling softly, waving like a thousand blood-red hands. Whether Jon’s gods had heard him or not he could not say.

等回到长厅，吉莉已生好了火。她紧靠在火堆旁，敞开兽皮，让婴儿在胸口吃奶。他跟大人一样饿，山姆心想。老妇人们从卡斯特堡垒的地窖里捎出些食物，但现在基本吃光了，而即使在角陵，即使在猎物众多，手下又有奴仆、猎狗可供驱使的南方家园，山姆也是个没用的猎手；身处这片空旷无垠的森林，能逮住任何东西的机会自然微乎其微。他试图在湖泊和半冻的小河里捕鱼，结果不出意料地惨遭失败。

By the time he returned to the longhall, Gilly had the fire going. She sat close to it with her furs opened, the babe at her breast. He’s as hungry as we are, Sam thought. The old women had smuggled out food for them from Craster’s, but they had eaten most of it by now. Sam had been a hopeless hunter even at Horn Hill, where game was plentiful and he had hounds and huntsmen to help him; here in this endless empty forest, the chances of him catching anything were remote. His efforts at fishing the lakes and half-frozen streams had been dismal failures as well.

“还要多久，山姆？”吉莉问，“还远吗？”

“How much longer, Sam?” Gilly asked. “Is it far, still?”

“不太远。至少不像原来那么远。”山姆耸肩卸下包裹，笨拙地坐到地板上，试着盘起腿来。走路使他的背疼到极点，他想倚住一根支撑屋顶的木雕支柱，但火堆却在长厅中央的排烟口下，衡量之后，还是觉得温暖甚于舒适，“再过几天就能到了。”

“Not so far. Not so far as it was.” Sam shrugged out of his pack, eased himself awkwardly to the floor, and tried to cross his legs. His back ached so abominably from the walking that he would have liked to lean up against one of the carved wooden pillars that supported the roof, but the fire was in the center of the hall beneath the smoke hole and he craved warmth even more than comfort. “Another few days should see us there.”

山姆带着地图，但如果这里不是白树村，它们根本没用。我们为绕过这个湖，走得太靠东，他焦虑地想，或者折回来时太靠西了？他开始讨厌起湖泊与河流，长城之外没有渡船和桥梁，逼得你绕行一大圈，或是寻找涉水的浅滩。除此之外，跟随猎人小径比挣扎穿越灌木丛容易，绕过山脊比攀爬容易，而长城之外只能选择后者。唉，假如巴棱或戴文跟我们在一起，现下应该已到了黑城堡，正在大厅里暖脚呢。可惜巴棱死了，而戴文跟葛兰、忧郁的艾迪等人一起离开。

Sam had his maps, but if this wasn’t Whitetree then they weren’t going to be much use. We went too far east to get around that lake, he fretted, or maybe too far west when I tried to double back. He was coming to hate lakes and rivers. Up here there was never a ferry or bridge, which meant walking all the way around the lakes and searching for places to ford the rivers. It was easier to follow a game trail than to struggle through the brush, easier to circle a ridge instead of climbing it. If Bannen or Dywen were with us we’d be at Castle Black by now, warming our feet in the common room. Bannen was dead, though, and Dywen gone with Grenn and Dolorous Edd and the others.

长城有三百里长，七百尺高，山姆提醒自己。如果一直往南，迟早会撞见它——而他们确实在往南，至少这点他非常确定。白天根据太阳辨别方向，晴朗的晚上，则可以追随冰龙星座的尾巴，虽然自另一匹马死后，他们便很少在夜间行路。就算月圆时分，林子里也太过黑暗，山姆或者最后一匹马很容易摔断腿。我们一定已到了很南的地方，一定是的。

The Wall is three hundred miles long and seven hundred feet high, Sam reminded himself. If they kept going south, they had to find it, sooner or later. And he was certain that they had been going south. By day he took directions from the sun, and on clear nights they could follow the Ice Dragon’s tail, though they hadn’t traveled much by night since the second horse had died. Even when the moon was full it was too dark beneath the trees, and it would have been so easy for Sam or the last garron to break a leg. We have to be well south by now, we have to be.

但他不确定的是，他们向西或向东偏离了多远。最终会到达长城，没错……也许一天，也许半月，不可能更久，肯定，肯定……但具体到哪儿呢？需要找的是黑城堡的门，一百里格沿线只有那里可以穿越。

What he wasn’t so certain of was how far east or west they might have strayed. They would reach the Wall, yes … in a day or a fortnight, it couldn’t be farther than that, surely, surely … but where? It was the gate at Castle Black they needed to find; the only way through the Wall for a hundred leagues.

“长城真的像卡斯特说的那么大吗？”吉莉问。

“Is the Wall as big as Craster used to say?” Gilly asked.

“比他说的还大，”山姆试图让语气愉快一些，“大得让你看不见藏在后面的城堡，而城堡本身就已经够大了，你会明白的。长城完全由冰筑成，城堡则是木石结构，高高的塔楼，深深的地窖，还有壁炉里日夜燃烧着熊熊烈火的硕大长厅。很热，很暖和，吉莉，热到你无法相信。”

“Bigger.” Sam tried to sound cheerful. “So big you can’t even see the castles hidden behind it. But they’re there, you’ll see. The Wall is all ice, but the castles are stone and wood. There are tall towers and deep vaults and a huge longhall with a great fire burning in the hearth, day and night. It’s so hot in there, Gilly, you’ll hardly believe it.”

“我可以站在火堆边吗？就我和孩子？不用很久，暖暖身子就好。”

“Could I stand by the fire? Me and the boy? Not for a long time, just till we’re good and warm?”

“你想站多久就站多久，还有食物和饮料。温热的葡萄酒、一碗洋葱炖鹿肉，外加哈布刚出炉的面包，热得烫手。”山姆摘下手套，在火焰旁活动手指——他很快后悔起自己的举动，它们本来冻得麻木，随着知觉恢复，疼痛教他差点哭出来。“弟兄们有时会唱歌，”他说，以便将注意力从指头的疼痛中转移，“戴利恩唱得最好，他们因此派他去了东海望。不过能唱的还有霍德和‘癞蛤蟆’——他真名陶德，但长得像癞蛤蟆，因此我们这么叫他。他喜欢唱，可嗓音太糟。”

“You can stand by the fire as long as you like. You’ll have food and drink, too. Hot mulled wine and a bowl of venison stewed with onions, and Hobb’s bread right out of the oven, so hot it will burn your fingers.” Sam peeled a glove off to wriggle his own fingers near the flames, and soon regretted it. They had been numb with cold, but as feeling returned they hurt so much he almost cried. “Sometimes one of the brothers will sing,” he said, to take his mind off the pain. “Dareon sang best, but they sent him to Eastwatch. There’s still Halder, though. And Toad. His real name is Todder, but he looks like a toad, so we call him that. He likes to sing, but he has an awful voice.”

“你呢？你唱不唱？”吉莉理了理兽皮衣服，将婴儿换到另一边乳头。

“Do you sing?” Gilly rearranged her furs, and she moved the babe from one breast to the other.

山姆脸红了。“我……我会一些歌，小时候喜欢唱歌，还会跳舞……但父亲大人不喜欢我唱歌跳舞，他说如果我想蹦来蹦去，就该拿剑到院子里去蹦。”

Sam blushed. “I … I know some songs. When I was little I liked to sing. I danced too, but my lord father never liked me to. He said if I wanted to prance around I should do it in the yard with a sword in my hand.”

“你能唱个南方人的歌吗？为孩子？”

“Could you sing some southron song? For the babe?”

“如果你喜欢。”山姆想了一会儿，“小时候，每当我和妹妹们上床睡觉时，我们的修士总会唱一首‘七神之歌’。”他清清嗓子，轻声唱道：

“If you like.” Sam thought for a moment. “There’s a song our septon used to sing to me and my sisters, when we were little and it was time for us to go to sleep. ‘The Song of the Seven,’ it’s called.” He cleared his throat and softly sang:

天父面容坚毅刚强，

The Father’s face is stern and strong,

裁决谬误主持公义，

he sits and judges right from wrong.

判定福寿长短高低，

He weighs our lives, the short and long,

慈祥喜爱小小孩童。

and loves the little children.

圣母带来生命之福，

The Mother gives the gift of life,

守护照看每位人妇，

and watches over every wife.

她的笑容终斗止戈，

Her gentle smile ends all strife,

温柔呵护小小孩童。

and she loves her little children.

战士屹立敌人之前，

The Warrior stands before the foe,

保卫我们南北东西，

protecting us where e’er we go.

手执弓矛盾剑兵器，

With sword and shield and spear and bow,

看守祚佑小小孩童。

he guards the little children.

老妪年迈而又睿智，

The Crone is very wise and old,

预知各人运途未来，

and sees our fates as they unfold.

举起金灯照耀光彩，

She lifts her lamp of shining gold,

指引前路为小小孩童。

to lead the little children.

铁匠勤勉日夜辛劳，

The Smith, he labors day and night,

安排一切井井有条，

to put the world of men to right.

铁锤风箱，炉火燃烧，

With hammer, plow, and fire bright,

打造世界给小小孩童。

he builds for little children.

少女舞蹈空中飞扬，

The Maiden dances through the sky,

存于恋人欷歔感伤，

she lives in every lover’s sigh,

微颦教会鸟儿飞翔，

Her smiles teach the birds to fly,

美梦托给小小孩童。

and give dreams to little children.

七位神灵将我们创造，

The Seven Gods who made us all,

时刻聆听我们祷告，

are listening if we should call.

闭上眼睛，再无困扰，

So close your eyes, you shall not fall,

诸神照看你，小小孩童。

they see you, little children,

闭上眼睛，再无烦恼，

Just close your eyes, you shall not fall,

诸神照看你，小小孩童。

they see you, little children.

山姆记得上次跟母亲一起唱这首歌是为哄婴儿迪肯睡觉。父亲听到之后愤怒地闯进来。“我不准你再这样，”蓝道伯爵严厉地告诫妻子，“你已用修士这些软绵绵的歌毁了我一个男孩，还想再毁一个吗？”然后他望向山姆，“你要唱，就对着你妹妹们唱，不准接近我儿子。”

Sam remembered the last time he’d sung the song with his mother, to lull baby Dickon to sleep. His father had heard their voices and come barging in, angry. “I will have no more of that,” Lord Randyll told his wife harshly. “You ruined one boy with those soft septon’s songs, do you mean to do the same to this babe?” Then he looked at Sam and said, “Go sing to your sisters, if you must sing. I don’t want you near my son.”

吉莉的孩子睡着了。他好娇小，而且安静得让山姆有点担心。这孩子甚至没名字。他问过吉莉，但她说在孩子两岁之前取名会带来厄运。许多孩子都死了。

Gilly’s babe had gone to sleep. He was such a tiny thing, and so quiet that Sam feared for him. He didn’t even have a name. He had asked Gilly about that, but she said it was bad luck to name a child before he was two. So many of them died.

她将乳头塞回兽皮里面。“真好听，山姆，你唱得真好。”

She tucked her nipple back inside her furs. “That was pretty, Sam. You sing good.”

“你该听听戴利恩唱，他的嗓音甜美如蜜酒。”

“You should hear Dareon. His voice is sweet as mead.”

“卡斯特娶我为妻的那天，我们喝过最甜美的蜜酒。那时还是夏天，没有这么冷。”吉莉有些困惑，“你才唱了六个神呀？卡斯特常告诉我们，你们南方人有七个神。”

“We drank the sweetest mead the day Craster made me a wife. It was summer then, and not so cold.” Gilly gave him a puzzled look. “Did you only sing of six gods? Craster always told us you southrons had seven.”

“七个，”他赞同，“但无人歌颂陌客。”陌客的脸是死亡之脸，提到他，山姆就觉得不安。“我们该吃点东西，分两口也好。”

“Seven,” he agreed, “but no one sings of the Stranger.” The Stranger’s face was the face of death. Even talking of him made Sam uncomfortable. “We should eat something. A bite or two.”

除了木头般硬的黑香肠，没剩下什么。山姆给两人各锯下薄薄几片。手腕使劲就会疼，但他太饿，因此坚持了下来。而且咀嚼时间够长，这些肉片就会变软，味道也不错。那是卡斯特的老婆们用大蒜腌制而成的。

Nothing was left but a few black sausages, as hard as wood. Sam sawed off a few thin slices for each of them. The effort made his wrist ache, but he was hungry enough to persist. If you chewed the slices long enough they softened up, and tasted good. Craster’s wives seasoned them with garlic.

吃完之后，山姆跟她说声抱歉，就出去方便并照料马匹。刺骨的寒风从北方吹来，他从树丛下经过，叶子朝他哗哗作响。他不得不弄碎河面上薄薄的冰层，好让马喝水。我最好把它带进屋去。他可不想天亮醒来时发现他们的马已在夜里冻死。即使真的发生意外，吉莉也会继续走下去。那女孩很勇敢，不像他。他希望自己知道回黑城堡之后该拿她怎么办。她总是说，只要他高兴，肯做他的妻子，但黑衣弟兄是无法娶妻的；更何况他是角陵城的塔利，根本不能娶女野人。我得想个办法。但首先我们得活着到达长城，别的都不重要，一点都不重要。

After they had finished, Sam begged her pardon and went out to relieve himself and look after the horse. A biting wind was blowing from the north, and the leaves in the trees rattled at him as he passed. He had to break the thin scum of ice on top of the stream so the horse could get a drink. I had better bring her inside. He did not want to wake up at break of day to find that their horse had frozen to death during the night. Gilly would keep going even if that happened. The girl was very brave, not like him. He wished he knew what he was going to do with her back at Castle Black. She kept saying how she’d be his wife if he wanted, but black brothers didn’t keep wives; besides, he was a Tarly of Horn Hill, he could never wed a wildling. I’ll have to think of something. So long as we reach the Wall alive, the rest doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter one little bit.

把马牵到长厅容易，牵进门却难，幸亏山姆坚持不懈。等将坐骑弄进屋内，吉莉已睡着了。他将马系在角落，并往火中添了几块新柴，然后脱下沉重的斗篷，钻到兽皮底下的女野人身边。他的斗篷足够盖住三人，并为他们保暖。

Leading the horse to the longhall was simple enough. Getting her through the door was not, but Sam persisted. Gilly was already dozing by the time he got the garron inside. He hobbled the horse in a corner, fed some fresh wood to the fire, took off his heavy cloak, and wriggled down under the furs beside the wildling woman. His cloak was big enough to cover all three of them and keep in the warmth of their bodies.

吉莉身上散发出奶味，还有大蒜和发霉旧毛皮的味道，但他已经习惯，而且还觉得很好闻。他喜欢睡在她边上，这让他想起很久以前在角陵城，跟两个妹妹同睡一张大床。蓝道伯爵认为这会让他像女孩一样软弱，于是终止了这种情形。然而独自睡在冰冷的房间也没让我变得坚强勇敢。他不知如果现在见到父亲，他会怎么评价。我杀了一个异鬼呢，大人，他假想自己如是说，我用龙晶匕首刺死了他，誓言弟兄们现在称我为“杀手”山姆。但即使在想象中，蓝道伯爵也只是怀疑地皱起眉头。

Gilly smelled of milk and garlic and musty old fur, but he was used to that by now. They were good smells, so far as Sam was concerned. He liked sleeping next to her. It made him remember times long past, when he had shared a huge bed at Horn Hill with two of his sisters. That had ended when Lord Randyll decided it was making him soft as a girl. Sleeping alone in my own cold cell never made me any harder or braver, though. He wondered what his father would say if he could see him now. I killed one of the Others, my lord, he imagined saying. I stabbed him with an obsidian dagger, and my Sworn Brothers call me Sam the Slayer now. But even in his fancies, Lord Randyll only scowled, disbelieving.

当晚的梦十分离奇。他梦见自己回到角陵城，父亲却已不在，它成了山姆的城堡。琼恩·雪诺跟他一起，还有“熊老”莫尔蒙总司令、葛兰、忧郁的艾迪、派普、“癞蛤蟆”及所有守夜人的弟兄，只是穿的衣服颜色鲜亮，并非黑色。山姆坐在高桌前，宴请所有人，用父亲的巨剑“碎心”切下片片烤肉，这里还有甜糕，有蜂蜜葡萄酒，有歌唱，有舞蹈，每个人都很暖和。宴会结束后，他上楼睡觉，不是走向父母的领主居室，而是跟妹妹们一起待过的那个房间。只不过在那张柔软宽大的床上等待他的不是妹妹们，却是吉莉，女孩只裹一件粗糙的兽皮，双乳渗出奶水。

His dreams were strange that night. He was back at Horn Hill, at the castle, but his father was not there. It was Sam’s castle now. Jon Snow was with him. Lord Mormont too, the Old Bear, and Grenn and Dolorous Edd and Pyp and Toad and all his other brothers from the Watch, but they wore bright colors instead of black. Sam sat at the high table and feasted them all, cutting thick slices off a roast with his father’s greatsword Heartsbane. There were sweet cakes to eat and honeyed wine to drink, there was singing and dancing, and everyone was warm. When the feast was done he went up to sleep; not to the lord’s bedchamber where his mother and father lived but to the room he had once shared with his sisters. Only instead of his sisters it was Gilly waiting in the huge soft bed, wearing nothing but a big shaggy fur, milk leaking from her breasts.

他突然醒来，又冷又怕。

He woke suddenly, in cold and dread.

火堆烧尽，只剩暗红余烬；空气冻结，感觉奇寒无比。角落里，那匹马一边嘶鸣一边用后腿踢木头。吉莉坐在火堆边，抱着婴儿。山姆摇摇晃晃地坐起，苍白的喘息从嘴里喷出。长厅内充满憧憧黑影，手臂上寒毛直竖。

The fire had burned down to smouldering red embers. The air itself seemed frozen, it was so cold. In the corner the garron was whinnying and kicking the logs with her hind legs. Gilly sat beside the fire, hugging her babe. Sam sat up groggy, his breath puffing pale from his open mouth. The longhall was dark with shadows, black and blacker. The hair on his arms was standing up.

没什么，他告诉自己，冷而已。

It’s nothing, he told himself. I’m cold, that’s all.

然后，门边有个阴影在动。一个巨大的阴影。

Then, by the door, one of the shadows moved. A big one.

这仍是梦，山姆祈祷，哦，我仍在睡觉，仍在做噩梦。他死了，他死了，我看到他死了。“他是为这男孩来的，”吉莉啜泣，“他闻到他的味道，新生婴儿的味道，充满生命的气息。他是为生命而来。”

This is still a dream, Sam prayed. Oh, make it that I’m still asleep, make it a nightmare. He’s dead, he’s dead, I saw him die. “He’s come for the babe,” Gilly wept. “He smells him. A babe fresh-born stinks o’ life. He’s come for the life.”

巨大的阴影在门梁前弯腰，进入厅内，蹒跚走来。就着阴暗的火光，影子变成了小保罗。

The huge dark shape stooped under the lintel, into the hall, and shambled toward them. In the dim light of the fire, the shadow became Small Paul.

“走开，”山姆嘶喊，“我们不需要你。”

“Go away,” Sam croaked. “We don’t want you here.”

保罗的手像炭一样黑，脸像奶一样白，眼睛闪着冰冷的蓝色光芒。冰霜染白了它的胡子，一侧肩膀上停着一只乌鸦，正在啄它的脸颊，吃那白色死肉。山姆尿了裤子，温热的水沿大腿流淌而下。“吉莉，安抚好马，然后牵出去。你快走。”

Paul’s hands were coal, his face was milk, his eyes shone a bitter blue. Hoarfrost whitened his beard, and on one shoulder hunched a raven, pecking at his cheek, eating the dead white flesh. Sam’s bladder let go, and he felt the warmth running down his legs. “Gilly, calm the horse and lead her out. You do that.”

“你——”她开始说。

“You—” she started.

“我有匕首。你忘了吗？龙晶匕首。”他起身将它胡乱掏出来。先前那把给了葛兰，但谢天谢地，离开卡斯特堡垒时，他记得带上莫尔蒙总司令的匕首。他握紧它，远离火堆，远离吉莉和婴儿。“保罗？”他想让自己听上去勇敢一些，但话出口成了尖叫，“小保罗。认得我吗？我是山姆，胖子山姆，胆小鬼山姆，你在林子里救了我。我无法再走的时候，你抱我，没有别人能做到，只有你。”山姆往后退开，手握武器，抽噎不休。我真是个无可救药的胆小鬼。“别伤害我们，保罗，求求你，为什么要伤害我们呢？”

“I have the knife. The dragonglass dagger.” He fumbled it out as he got to his feet. He’d given the first knife to Grenn, but thankfully he’d remembered to take Lord Mormont’s dagger before fleeing Craster’s Keep. He clutched it tight, moving away from the fire, away from Gilly and the babe. “Paul?” He meant to sound brave, but it came out in a squeak. “Small Paul. Do you know me? I’m Sam, fat Sam, Sam the Scared, you saved me in the woods. You carried me when I couldn’t walk another step. No one else could have done that, but you did.” Sam backed away, knife in hand, sniveling. I am such a coward. “Don’t hurt us, Paul. Please. Why would you want to hurt us?”

吉莉在硬泥地上挣扎后退。尸鬼扭头望向她，但山姆大喊：“不！”于是它又转回来。肩头的乌鸦从它残破苍白的脸颊上扯下一条肉。山姆将匕首举在面前，呼吸活像铁匠的风箱。长厅另一头，吉莉到了马儿边上。诸神赐予我勇气，山姆祈祷，就这一次，给我一点点勇气，撑到她顺利逃走。

Gilly scrabbled backward across the hard dirt floor. The wight turned his head to look at her, but Sam shouted “NO!” and he turned back. The raven on his shoulder ripped a strip of flesh from his pale ruined cheek. Sam held the dagger before him, breathing like a blacksmith’s bellows. Across the longhall, Gilly reached the garron. Gods give me courage, Sam prayed. For once, give me a little courage. Just long enough for her to get away.

小保罗向他逼近，山姆向后退却，直到背抵住粗糙的木墙。他双手抓住匕首，以求拿得更稳。尸鬼看来不怕龙晶，也许它并不知道那是什么。它行动缓慢，不过小保罗活着的时候就不敏捷。在它身后，吉莉低声安抚马儿，试图催其朝门口走，但那匹马一定是闻到了一丝尸鬼那怪异寒冷的气味。它突然停止前进，人立起来，蹄子在冰冷的空气中挥舞。保罗转向声音传来的方位，似乎完全失去了对山姆的兴趣。

Small Paul moved toward him. Sam backed off until he came up against a rough log wall. He clutched the dagger with both hands to hold it steady. The wight did not seem to fear the dragonglass. Perhaps he did not know what it was. He moved slowly, but Small Paul had never been quick even when he’d been alive. Behind him, Gilly murmured to calm the garron and tried to urge it toward the door. But the horse must have caught a whiff of the wight’s queer cold scent. Suddenly she balked, rearing, her hooves lashing at the frosty air. Paul swung toward the sound, and seemed to lose all interest in Sam.

没时间思考、祈祷，或是害怕。山姆威尔·塔利往前冲去，将匕首插入小保罗的后背。尸鬼的身体已转过去一半，根本没察觉到他过来。乌鸦尖叫一声，飞入空中。“你死定了！”山姆边捅刺边嘶喊，“你死定了，你死定了！”他不停地刺，不停地喊，一遍又一遍，在保罗厚重的黑斗篷上划开道道大口子。刀刃碰到羊毛布底下的铁锁甲碎裂开来，龙晶碎片四处飞散。

There was no time to think or pray or be afraid. Samwell Tarly threw himself forward and plunged the dagger down into Small Paul’s back. Half-turned, the wight never saw him coming. The raven gave a shriek and took to the air. “You’re dead!” Sam screamed as he stabbed. “You’re dead, you’re dead.” He stabbed and screamed, again and again, tearing huge rents in Paul’s heavy black cloak. Shards of dragonglass flew everywhere as the blade shattered on the iron mail beneath the wool.

山姆尖声号叫，白雾融入黑暗之中。小保罗扭身过来，山姆扔下无用的刀柄，迅速后退一步。但他还没来得及拔出另一把匕首，也即是每位弟兄都佩戴的钢铁匕首，尸鬼漆黑的双手便卡住了他的下巴。保罗的手指冷得灼人，它们深深掐入山姆喉咙柔软的皮肉中。快跑，吉莉，快跑啊，他想高喊，但张开嘴，仅发出阵阵哽咽。

Sam’s wail made a white mist in the black air. He dropped the useless hilt and took a hasty step backwards as Small Paul twisted around. Before he could get out his other knife, the steel knife that every brother carried, the wight’s black hands locked beneath his chins. Paul’s fingers were so cold they seemed to burn. They burrowed deep into the soft flesh of Sam’s throat. Run, Gilly, run, he wanted to scream, but when he opened his mouth only a choking sound emerged.

手指终于摸索到匕首，他拿它盲目地戳向尸鬼的肚子，不料刀尖仅擦过铁环，而由于用力过猛，整个匕首都旋转着飞了出去。小保罗的指头无情地收紧，开始扭转。他打算把我脑袋掰下来，山姆绝望地想。喉咙像结了冰，肺里却如着了火。他徒劳地捶打、拽拉尸鬼的手腕，狠踢保罗的下体，都没用。世界缩小成两点湛蓝的星星、一阵可怕而强烈的疼痛和残酷的寒冷，连眼泪都结了冰。山姆拼命扭动挣扎……然后向前扑倒。

His fumbling fingers finally found the dagger, but when he slammed it up into the wight’s belly the point skidded off the iron links, and the blade went spinning from Sam’s hand. Small Paul’s fingers tightened inexorably, and began to twist. He’s going to rip my head off, Sam thought in despair. His throat felt frozen, his lungs on fire. He punched and pulled at the wight’s wrists, to no avail. He kicked Paul between the legs, uselessly. The world shrank to two blue stars, a terrible crushing pain, and a cold so fierce that his tears froze over his eyes. Sam squirmed and pulled, desperate … and then he lurched forward.

小保罗高大强壮，但山姆比他重，而且尸鬼行动笨拙，这他在先民拳峰上就见识过。突然的变化让保罗踉跄地退后一步，接着活人和死人一起跌倒。冲击之下，一只手从山姆喉咙口松开，冰冷的黑指头回来之前，他得以快速吸进一口气。血的味道充满嘴巴。他转动脖子，寻找匕首，却只看到一抹暗橙色的光亮。火！虽然只剩焰灰余烬，但……他无法呼吸，无法思考……拖着保罗向侧面挣扎扭动……胳膊在泥地上挥舞、摸索、探寻、拨散灰烬，找到一件滚烫的东西……一块烧焦的木炭，黑中闪动黯淡的红与橙……他用手指握起，铆足全身力气，塞进保罗嘴里，甚至感觉到保罗牙齿的碎裂。

Small Paul was big and powerful, but Sam still outweighed him, and the wights were clumsy, he had seen that on the Fist. The sudden shift sent Paul staggering back a step, and the living man and the dead one went crashing down together. The impact knocked one hand from Sam’s throat, and he was able to suck in a quick breath of air before the icy black fingers returned. The taste of blood filled his mouth. He twisted his neck around, looking for his knife, and saw a dull orange glow. The fire! Only ember and ashes remained, but still … he could not breathe, or think … Sam wrenched himself sideways, pulling Paul with him … his arms flailed against the dirt floor, groping, reaching, scattering the ashes, until at last they found something hot … a chunk of charred wood, smouldering red and orange within the black … his fingers closed around it, and he smashed it into Paul’s mouth, so hard he felt teeth shatter.

尽管如此，尸鬼的抓握并没放松。山姆最后想到的是爱他的母亲和被他辜负的父亲。长厅在四周旋转，一丝烟雾从保罗碎裂的牙齿间升腾。然后，死人的脸着了火，那双手也松开。

Yet even so the wight’s grip did not loosen. Sam’s last thoughts were for the mother who had loved him and the father he had failed. The longhall was spinning around him when he saw the wisp of smoke rising from between Paul’s broken teeth. Then the dead man’s face burst into flame, and the hands were gone.

山姆大口吸气，虚弱地滚向一旁。尸鬼在燃烧，冰霜从胡子上滴落，下面的血肉变得焦黑。山姆听见乌鸦尖叫，但保罗本身没出声，它的嘴巴张开，冒出火焰，而它的眼睛……没有了，湛蓝的闪光没有了。

Sam sucked in air, and rolled feebly away. The wight was burning, hoarfrost dripping from his beard as the flesh beneath blackened. Sam heard the raven shriek, but Paul himself made no sound. When his mouth opened, only flames came out. And his eyes … It’s gone, the blue glow is gone.

他爬到门口。空气如此寒冷，连呼吸都会疼痛，但那是多么美妙的疼痛。他低头走出长厅。“吉莉？”他说，“吉莉，我杀了它。吉——”

He crept to the door. The air was so cold that it hurt to breathe, but such a fine sweet hurt. He ducked from the longhall. “Gilly?” he called. “Gilly, I killed it. Gil—”

她背靠鱼梁木站立，怀中抱着孩子，周围都是尸鬼，十几……二十个，甚至更多……有些曾是野人，仍然穿着兽皮……但更多的是他的弟兄。山姆看见“姐妹男”拉克，“软足”，里尔斯。齐特颈上的瘤成了黑色，脸颊的疖子则覆着一层薄冰。其中一个尸鬼看来像哈克，但由于少了半个脑袋，他无法确定。他们已撕裂了那匹可怜的马，正用血淋淋的手把肠子扯出来，马肚子上升起苍白的蒸汽。

She stood with her back against the weirwood, the boy in her arms. The wights were all around her. There were a dozen of them, a score, more … some had been wildlings once, and still wore skins and hides … but more had been his brothers. Sam saw Lark the Sisterman, Softfoot, Ryles. The wen on Chett’s neck was black, his boils covered with a thin film of ice. And that one looked like Hake, though it was hard to know for certain with half his head missing. They had torn the poor garron apart, and were pulling out her entrails with dripping red hands. Pale steam rose from her belly.

山姆呜咽一声，“这不公平……”

Sam made a whimpery sound. “It’s not fair …”

“公平，”乌鸦落在他肩头，“公平，遥远，恐惧。①”它拍打翅膀，跟吉莉一起尖叫。尸鬼几乎已到了她跟前，他听见鱼梁木暗红的树叶阵阵婆娑，仿佛在用他听不懂的语言互相低诉。星光流动，周围的树木全部呻吟着发出吱嘎响声。山姆·塔利的脸色如凝固的牛奶，眼睛瞪得像盘子那么大。乌鸦！乌鸦！鱼梁木上有数千只乌鸦，栖息在苍白如骨的枝条上，自树叶间向外张望。它们张口嘶鸣，展开黑翼，尖叫拍翅，如一团愤怒的云，向尸鬼们袭来。它们围着齐特的脸，啄他的蓝眼睛；它们像苍蝇一样盖住姐妹男，从哈克碎裂的脑壳里叼出团团东西。乌鸦的数量众多，山姆抬头，都看不见月亮。

“Fair.” The raven landed on his shoulder. “Fair, far, fear.” It flapped its wings, and screamed along with Gilly. The wights were almost on her. He heard the dark red leaves of the weirwood rustling, whispering to one another in a tongue he did not know. The starlight itself seemed to stir, and all around them the trees groaned and creaked. Sam Tarly turned the color of curdled milk, and his eyes went wide as plates. Ravens! They were in the weirwood, hundreds of them, thousands, perched on the bone-white branches, peering between the leaves. He saw their beaks open as they screamed, saw them spread their black wings. Shrieking, flapping, they descended on the wights in angry clouds. They swarmed round Chett’s face and pecked at his blue eyes, they covered the Sisterman like flies, they plucked gobbets from inside Hake’s shattered head. There were so many that when Sam looked up, he could not see the moon.

“去，”肩膀上的鸟说，“去，去，去。”

“Go,” said the bird on his shoulder. “Go, go, go.”

山姆开始奔跑，阵阵白雾从嘴里喷出。在他周围，尸鬼们在黑翼和利喙的攻击下东倒西歪，带着诡异的沉默倒下，没有呼叫与呻吟。但乌鸦们并不理会山姆。他抓起吉莉的手，将她从鱼梁木边拉开，“我们快走。”

Sam ran, puffs of frost exploding from his mouth. All around him the wights flailed at the black wings and sharp beaks that assailed them, falling in an eerie silence with never a grunt nor cry. But the ravens ignored Sam. He took Gilly by the hand and pulled her away from the weirwood. “We have to go.”

“去哪儿？”吉莉抱着婴儿快步跟随。“他们杀了我们的马，我们怎么……”

“But where?” Gilly hurried after him, holding her baby. “They killed our horse, how will we …”

“兄弟！”喊声穿透黑夜，穿透上千只乌鸦的嘶鸣。树丛下，有个人骑一头麇鹿，从头到脚包裹在黑灰相间的班驳衣服里。“来！”那骑手喊，兜帽掩盖了他的面容。

“Brother!” The shout cut through the night, through the shrieks of a thousand ravens. Beneath the trees, a man muffled head to heels in mottled blacks and greys sat astride an elk. “Here,” the rider called. A hood shadowed his face.

他穿着黑衣。于是山姆催促吉莉向他走去。那头麇鹿十分巨大，大得可怕，肩膀离地十尺高，分叉的角也差不多有十尺宽。它膝盖跪地，让他们骑上去。“来。”骑手边说，边伸出戴手套的手，将吉莉拉到身后，然后轮到山姆。“谢谢。”他喘着气说。但当他握住对方伸出的手时，猛然意识到骑手并没戴手套。他的手又黑又冷，指头硬得像岩石。

He’s wearing blacks. Sam urged Gilly toward him. The elk was huge, a great elk, ten feet tall at the shoulder, with a rack of antlers near as wide. The creature sank to his knees to let them mount. “Here,” the rider said, reaching down with a gloved hand to pull Gilly up behind him. Then it was Sam’s turn. “My thanks,” he puffed. Only when he grasped the offered hand did he realize that the rider wore no glove. His hand was black and cold, with fingers hard as stone.