PROLOGUE

序曲

   “We should start back,” Gared urged as thewoods began to grow dark around them. “The wildlings are dead.”

“咱们回头吧。”盖瑞不禁催促，眼看周围的树林逐渐黯淡，“既然野人①已经死了，”

   “Do the dead frighten you?” Ser Waymar Royceasked with just the hint of a smile.

“死人吓着你了吗？”威玛·罗伊斯爵士带着轻浅的笑意问。

   Gared did notrise to the bait. He was an old man, past fifty,and he had seen the lordlings come and go. “Dead is dead,” he said. “We have nobusiness with the dead.”

盖瑞并未中激将之计，年过五十的他也算得上是个老人，这辈子看过太多贵族子弟来来去去。“死了就是死了，”他说，“咱们何必追寻死人。”

   “Are they dead?” Royce asked softly. “Whatproof have we?”

“你能确定他们真死了？”罗伊斯轻声问，“证据何在？”

   “Will saw them,” Gared said. “If he saysthey are dead, that’s proof enough for me.”

“威尔看到了，”盖瑞道，“我相信他说的话。”

   Will had known they would drag him into thequarrel sooner or later. He wished it had been later rather than sooner. “Mymother told me that dead men sing no songs,” he put in.

威尔料到他们早晚会把自己卷入这场争执，只是没想到这么快。“我娘说过，死人没戏可唱。”他插嘴道。

   “My wet nurse said the same thing, Will,”Royce replied. “Never believe anything you hear at awoman’s tit. There are things to be learnedeven from the dead.” His voiceechoed, tooloudin thetwilit forest.

“威尔，我奶妈也说过这话，”罗伊斯回答：“千万别相信你在女人怀里听到的东西。就算人是死了，也能让我们了解很多东西。”他的余音在暮色昏暝的森林里回荡，似乎吵闹了点。

   “We have a long ride before us,” Garedpointed out. “Eight days, maybe nine. And night is falling.”

“回去的路还长着呢，”盖瑞指出，“少不了走个八九天，况且天色渐渐暗下来了。”

   Ser Waymar Royceglanced atthe sky withdisinterest. “It does thatevery day about this time. Are youunmannedby the dark, Gared?”

威玛·罗伊斯爵士意兴阑珊地扫视天际。“每天这时候不都如此？盖瑞，你该不会怕黑吧？”

   Will could see thetightnessaround Gared’s mouth, the barelysuppressedanger in hiseyes under thethick black

hood of his cloak. Gared had spent forty years in the Night’s Watch, manand boy, and he was not accustomed to being made light of. Yet it was more thanthat. Under thewounded

pride, Will could sense something else in the older man. You couldtasteit; a nervoustension that came perilous close to fear.

威尔看见盖瑞紧抿的嘴唇，以及他厚重黑斗篷下强自遏抑的怒火。盖瑞当了四十年的守夜人②，这种资历可不是随便让人寻开心的。但盖瑞不仅是愤怒，在他受

伤的自尊底下，威尔隐约察觉到某种潜藏的不安，一种近似于畏惧的紧张情绪。

   Will shared his unease. He had been fouryears on the Wall. The first time he had been sent beyond, all the old storieshad come rushing back, and his bowels had turned to water. He had laughed aboutit afterward. He was a veteran of a hundred rangings by now, and the endlessdark wilderness that the southron called the haunted forest had no more terrorsfor him.

威尔深有同感。他戍守长城不过四年，当初首次越墙北进，所有的传说故事突然都涌上心头，把他吓得四肢发软，事后想起难免莞尔。如今他已是拥有百余次巡

逻经验的老手，眼前这片南方人称作鬼影森林的广袤黑荒，他早已无所畏惧。

   Until tonight. Something was differenttonight. There was an edge to this darkness that made his hackles rise. Ninedays they had been riding, north and northwest and then north again, fartherand farther from the Wall, hard on the track of a band of wildling raiders.Each day had been worse than the day that had come before it. Today was theworst of all. A cold wind was blowing out of the north, and it made the treesrustle like living things. All day, Will had felt as though something werewatching him, something cold and implacable that loved him not. Gared had feltit too. Will wanted nothing so much as to ride hellbent for the safety of theWall, but that was not a feeling to share with your commander.

然而今晚是个例外，迥异往昔，四方暗幕中有种莫可名状、让他汗毛竖立的惊悚。他们轻骑北出长城，中途转向西北，随即又向北，九天来昼夜加急、不断推进，紧咬一队土匪的足迹。环境日益恶化，今天已降到谷底。阴森北风吹得树影幢幢，宛如狰狞活物，威尔整天都觉得自己受到一种冰冷且对他毫无好感的莫名之物监视，盖瑞也感觉出了。此刻威尔心中只想掉转马头，没命似地逃回长城。但这却是万万不能在长官面前说出的念头。

   Especially not a commander like this one.

尤其是这样的长官。

   Ser Waymar Royce was the youngest son of anancient house with too many heirs. He was a handsome youth of eighteen,grey-eyed and graceful and slender as a knife. Mounted on his huge blackdestrier, the knight towered above Will and Gared on their smaller garrons. Hewore black leather boots, black woolen pants, black moleskin gloves, and a finesupple coat of gleaming black ringmail over layers of black wool and boiledleather. Ser Waymar had been a Sworn Brother of the Night’s Watch for less thanhalf a year, but no one could say he had not prepared for his vocation. Atleast insofar as his wardrobe was concerned.

威玛·罗伊斯爵士出身贵族世家，在儿孙满堂的家里排行老幺。他是个俊美的十八岁青年，有双灰色眸子，举止优雅，瘦得像把尖刀。骑在他那匹健壮的黑色战马上，比骑着矮小犁马的威尔和盖瑞高出许多。他穿着黑色皮靴，黑色羊毛裤，戴着黑色鼹鼠皮手套，黑色羊毛衫外套硬皮甲，又罩了一件闪闪发光的黑色环甲。威玛爵士宣誓成为守夜人尚不满半年，但他绝非空手而来，最起码行头一件不少。

   His cloak was his crowning glory; sable,thick and black and soft as sin. “Bet he killed them all himself, he did,”Gared told the barracks over wine, “twisted their little heads off, our mightywarrior.” They had all shared the laugh.

而他身上最耀眼的行头，自然便是那件既厚实、又柔软惊人的黑色貂皮斗篷。“我敢打赌，那堆黑貂一定是他亲手杀的，”盖瑞在军营里喝酒时对兄弟们说：“我们伟大的战士哦，把它们的小头一颗颗扭断啦。”当时便引得众人哄笑一团。

   It is hard to take orders from a man youlaughed at in your cups, Will reflected as he sat shivering atop his garron.Gared must have felt the same.

　假如你的长官是大伙儿饮酒作乐时的嘲笑对象，你怎么去尊敬他呢？威尔骑在马上，不禁如此思量。想必盖瑞也深有同感。

   “Mormont said as we should track them, andwe did,” Gared said. “They’re dead. They shan’t trouble us no more. There’shard riding before us. I don’t like this weather. If it snows, we could be afortnight getting back, and snow’s the best we can hope for. Ever seen an icestorm, my lord?”

“莫尔蒙叫我们追查野人行踪，我们照办了，”盖瑞道：“现在他们死去，再也不会来骚扰我们。而眼前还有好长一段路等着我们。我实在不喜欢这种天气，要是下雪，我们得花两个星期才能回去。其实下雪还算不上什么，大人，您可见过冰风暴肆虐的景象？”

   The lordling seemed not to hear him. Hestudied the deepening twilight in that half-bored, half-distracted way he had.Will had ridden with the knight long enough to understand that it was best notto interrupt him when he looked like that. “Tell me again what you saw, Will.All the details. Leave nothing out.”

小少爷似乎没听见这番话。他用他特有的那种缺乏兴趣、漫不经心的方式审视着渐暗的暮色。威尔跟随他已有些时日，知道这种时候最好不要打断他。“威尔，再跟我说一遍你看到了些什么。仔细讲来，别漏掉任何细节。”

   Will had been a hunter before he joined theNight’s Watch. Well, a poacher in truth. Mallister freeriders had caught himred-handed in the Mallisters’ own woods, skinning one of the Mallisters’ ownbucks, and it had been a choice of putting on the black or losing a hand. Noone could move through the woods as silent as Will, and it had not taken theblack brothers long to discover his talent.

在成为守夜人以前，威尔原本靠打猎为生。说难听点，其实就是偷猎者。当年他在梅利斯特家族的森林里偷猎公鹿，正忙着剥鹿皮，弄得一手血腥的时候，被受雇于梅利斯特家的自由骑手③逮个正着。他若不选择加入黑衫军，就只有单手被砍一途。威尔潜行的本事是一等一的，在森林里无声潜行等闲难及，黑衫军的弟兄们果然很快也就发现了他的长处。

   “The camp is two miles farther on, over thatridge, hard beside a stream,” Will said. “I got close as I dared. There’s eightof them, men and women both. No children I could see. They put up a lean-toagainst the rock. The snow’s pretty well covered it now, but I could still makeit out. No fire burning, but the firepit was still plain as day. No one moving.I watched a long time. No living man ever lay so still.”

“营地在两里之外，翻过山脊，紧邻着一条溪。”威尔答道，“我已经靠得很近了。总共有八个人，男女都有，但没看见小孩。他们背靠着大石头，虽然雪几乎把营地整个盖住，但我还是分辨得出来。没有营火，只有火堆的余烬比较明显。他们一动不动，我仔细看了好长时间，活人绝不会躺得这么安静。”

   “Did you see any blood?”

“你发现血迹了吗？”

   “Well, no,” Will admitted.

“嗯，没有。”威尔坦承。

   “Did you see any weapons?”

“你看见任何武器了吗？”

   “Some swords, a few bows. One man had anaxe. Heavy-looking, double-bladed, a cruel piece of iron. It was on the groundbeside him, right by his hand.”

“几支剑、两三把弓，还有个家伙带了一柄斧头。铁打的双刃斧，似乎挺沉的，摆在他右手边的地上。”

   “Did you make note of the position of thebodies?”

“你记得他们躺着的相对位置吗？”

   Will shrugged. “A couple are sitting upagainst the rock. Most of them on the ground. Fallen, like.”

威尔耸耸肩。“两三个靠着石头，大部分躺在地上，像是被打死的。”

   “Or sleeping,” Royce suggested.

“也可能在睡觉。”罗伊斯提出异议。

   “Fallen,” Will insisted. “There’s one womanup an ironwood, half-hid in the branches. A far-eyes.” He smiled thinly. “Itook care she never saw me. When I got closer, I saw that she wasn’t movingneither.” Despite himself, he shivered.

“肯定是被打死的，”威尔坚持己见，“因为有个女的爬在铁树上，藏在枝头，应该是个斥候。”他浅浅一笑。“我很小心，没让她见着。但等我靠近，却发现她根本毫无动静。”说到这儿他不禁一阵颤抖。

   “You have a chill?” Royce asked.

“你受寒了？”罗伊斯问。

   “Some,” Will muttered. “The wind, m’lord.”

“有点罢，”威尔喃喃道，“大人，是风的关系啊。”

   The young knight turned back to his grizzledman-at-arms. Frostfallen leaves whispered past them, and Royce’s destrier movedrestlessly. “What do you think might have killed these men, Gared?” Ser Waymarasked casually. He adjusted the drape of his long sable cloak.

年轻骑士转头面对灰发老兵。结霜的落叶在他们耳边低语飘零，罗伊斯的战马局促不安。“盖瑞，你觉得是谁杀了这些人？”威玛爵士随口问，顺手整了整貂皮长袍的褶裥。

   “It was the cold,” Gared said with ironcertainty. “I saw men freeze last winter, and the one before, when I was half aboy. Everyone talks about snows forty foot deep, and how the ice wind comeshowling out of the north, but the real enemy is the cold. It steals up on youquieter than Will, and at first you shiver and your teeth chatter and you stampyour feet and dream of mulled wine and nice hot fires. It burns, it does.Nothing burns like the cold. But only for a while. Then it gets inside you andstarts to fill you up, and after a while you don’t have the strength to fightit. It’s easier just to sit down or go to sleep. They say you don’t feel anypain toward the end. First you go weak and drowsy, and everything starts tofade, and then it’s like sinking into a sea of warm milk. Peaceful, like.”

“是这该死的天气，”盖瑞斩钉截铁地说，“上个严冬④，我亲眼见人活活冻死，再之前那次也看过，当时我还是个孩子。人人都说当时积雪深达四十尺，北风冷得跟玄冰似的，但真正要命的却是低温。它会无声无息地逮住你，比威尔还安静，起初你会发抖、牙齿打颤、两腿一伸，梦见滚烫的酒，温暖的营火。很烫人，是的，再也没什么像寒冷那样烫人了。但只消一会儿，它便会钻进你体内，填满你的身体，过不了多久你就没力气抵抗，渴望坐下休息或小睡片刻，据说到最后完全不觉痛苦。你只是浑身无力，昏昏欲睡，然后一切渐渐消逝，最后，就像淹没在热牛奶里一样，安详而恬静。”

   “Such eloquence, Gared,” Ser Waymarobserved. “I never suspected you had it in you.”

“我看你蛮有诗意嘛，”威玛爵士下了评论，“没想到你还有这方面的天分。”

   “I’ve had the cold in me too, lordling.”Gared pulled back his hood, giving Ser Waymar a good long look at the stumpswhere his ears had been. “Two ears, three toes, and the little finger off myleft hand. I got off light. We found my brother frozen at his watch, with asmile on his face.”

“大人，我亲身体验过严寒的威力，”盖瑞往后拉开他的兜帽，好让威玛爵士看清楚他耳朵冻掉之后剩下的肉团。“两只耳朵，三根脚趾，还有左手的小指，我这算是轻伤了。我大哥当年就是站岗的时候活活冻死的，等我们找到他，他脸上还挂着笑容。”

   Ser Waymar shrugged. “You ought dress morewarmly, Gared.”

威玛爵士耸耸肩道：“我说盖瑞，你该多穿两件衣服。”

   Gared glared at the lordling, the scarsaround his ear holes flushed red with anger where Maester Aemon had cut theears away. “We’ll see how warm you can dress when the winter comes.” He pulledup his hood and hunched over his garron, silent and sullen.

盖瑞怒视着他的年轻长官，气得耳根发红。当年伊蒙学士⑤把他坏死的耳朵割去，如今耳洞旁还留着伤疤。“等冬天真正来临时，看你能穿得多暖。”他拉起兜帽，缩着身子骑上马，阴沉地不再吭声。

   “If Gared said it was the cold?.?.?.?” Willbegan.

“既然盖瑞都说是天气的关系了……”威尔正要开口。

   “Have you drawn any watches this past week,Will?”

“威尔，上周你有没有站岗？”

   “Yes, m’lord.” There never was a week whenhe did not draw a dozen bloody watches. What was the man driving at?

“有啊，大人。”他哪星期没抽到站岗的签，这家伙究竟想说什么？

   “And how did you find the Wall?”

“长城的情形如何？”

   “Weeping,” Will said, frowning. He saw itclear enough, now that the lordling had pointed it out. “They couldn’t havefroze. Not if the Wall was weeping. It wasn’t cold enough.”

“在‘哭泣’啊，”威尔皱着眉头说。这下他明白了。“所以他们不是冻死的，假如城墙会滴水，表示天气还不够冷。”

   Royce nodded. “Bright lad. We’ve had a fewlight frosts this past week, and a quick flurry of snow now and then, butsurely no cold fierce enough to kill eight grown men. Men clad in fur andleather, let me remind you, with shelter near at hand, and the means of makingfire.” The knight’s smile was cocksure. “Will, lead us there. I would see thesedead men for myself.”

罗伊斯点点头。“聪明。过去这周结了点霜，偶尔还下点雪，但绝对没有冷到冻死八个人的地步。更何况他们穿着保暖的毛皮御寒，所处地形足以遮挡风雪，还有充足的生火材料。”骑士露出充满自信的笑容。“威尔，带路罢，我要亲眼看看这些死人。”

   And then there was nothing to be done forit. The order had been given, and honor bound them to obey.

事情至此，他们别无选择。既然命令已下，也只有照办的份儿。

   Will went in front, his shaggy little garronpicking the way carefully through the undergrowth. A light snow had fallen thenight before, and there were stones and roots and hidden sinks lying just underits crust, waiting for the careless and the unwary. Ser Waymar Royce came next,his great black destrier snorting impatiently. The warhorse was the wrong mountfor ranging, but try and tell that to the lordling. Gared brought up the rear.The old man-at-arms muttered to himself as he rode.

威尔打前锋，骑着他那匹长毛的马，在矮树丛里小小心翼翼地探路。昨夜下了一场小雪，这会儿树丛底下有许多石块、树根和水洼，一不小心就会摔倒。威玛·罗伊斯爵士跟在后面，他那匹高壮骏马不耐烦地吐着气。巡逻任务最不适合骑战马，但贵族子弟哪听得进去？老兵盖瑞殿后，一路低声喃喃自语。

   Twilight deepened. The cloudless sky turneda deep purple, the color of an old bruise, then faded to black. The stars beganto come out. A half-moon rose. Will was grateful for the light.

暮色渐沉，无云的天空转为淤青般的深紫，然后没入黑幕。星星出来了，新月也升起。威尔暗自感谢星月的光辉。

   “We can make a better pace than this,surely,” Royce said when the moon was full risen.

“我们应该可以再走快点。”罗伊斯说。这时月亮已快升上天顶。

   “Notwith this horse,” Will said. Fear had made him insolent. “Perhaps my lord wouldcare to take the lead?”

“你的马没这能耐，”威尔道，恐惧使他无礼起来。“少爷您走前面试试？”

   Ser Waymar Royce did not deign to reply.

威玛·罗伊斯爵士显然不屑回答。

   Somewhere off in the wood a wolf howled.

树林深处传来一声狼嗥。

   Will pulled his garron over beneath anancient gnarled ironwood and dismounted.

威尔在一棵长满树瘤的老铁树旁停住，下了马。

   “Why are you stopping?” Ser Waymar asked.

“为何停下？”威玛爵士问。

   “Best go the rest of the way on foot,m’lord. It’s just over that ridge.”

“大人，后面的路步行比较好，翻过那道山脊就到。”

   Royce paused a moment, staring off into thedistance, his face reflective. A cold wind whispered through the trees. Hisgreat sable cloak stirred behind like something half-alive.

罗伊斯也停下来凝神远望，一脸思索的表情。阵阵冷风飒飒响彻林间，他的貂皮大衣在背后抖了抖，仿佛有了生命。

   “There’s something wrong here,” Garedmuttered.

“这儿不太对劲。”盖瑞喃喃地说。

   The young knight gave him a disdainfulsmile. “Is there?”

年轻骑士对他轻蔑地一笑。“是吗？”

   “Can’t you feel it?” Gared asked. “Listen tothe darkness.”

“你难道没感觉？”盖瑞质问，“仔细听听暗处的声音。”

   Will could feel it. Four years in theNight’s Watch, and he had never been so afraid. What was it?

威尔也感觉到了。在守夜人服役这四年来，他从未如此恐惧。究竟是什么东西在作怪？

   “Wind. Trees rustling. A wolf. Which soundis it that unmans you so, Gared?” When Gared did not answer, Royce slidgracefully from his saddle. He tied the destrier securely to a low-hanginglimb, well away from the other horses, and drew his longsword from its sheath.Jewels glittered in its hilt, and the moonlight ran down the shining steel. Itwas a splendid weapon, castle-forged, and new-made from the look of it. Willdoubted it had ever been swung in anger.

“风声，树叶沙沙响，还有狼嚎。盖瑞，是哪一种把你吓破胆啦？”罗伊斯见盖瑞没接腔，便优雅地翻身下马。他把战马牢牢地绑在一根低垂的枝干上，跟其他两匹离得远远的，然后抽出长剑。这是把城里打造的好剑，剑柄镶着珠宝，熠熠发亮，月光在明晃晃的钢剑身上反射出璀璨光芒，无疑是新打造的。威尔很怀疑它有没有沾过血。

   “The trees press close here,” Will warned.“That sword will tangle you up, m’lord. Better a knife.”

“大人，这儿树长得很密，”威尔警告，“可能会缠住您的剑，还是用短刀罢。”

   “If I need instruction, I will ask for it,”the young lord said. “Gared, stay here. Guard the horses.”

“我需要指导的时候自然会开口。”年轻贵族道，“盖瑞，你守在这里，看好马匹。”

   Gared dismounted. “We need a fire. I’ll seeto it.”

盖瑞下马。“我来生个火。”

   “How big a fool are you, old man? If thereare enemies in this wood, a fire is the last thing we want.”

“老头子，愚蠢也有个限度。若这林子里有敌人，我们难道要生火引他们过来么？”

   “There’s some enemies a fire will keepaway,” Gared said. “Bears and direwolves and?.?.?.?and other things?.?.?.?”

“有些东西就只怕火，”盖瑞道，“比如熊、冰原狼、还有……还有好些东西。”

   Ser Waymar’s mouth became a hard line. “Nofire.”

威玛爵士紧抿嘴唇。“我说不准就是不准。”

   Gared’s hood shadowed his face, but Willcould see the hard glitter in his eyes as he stared at the knight. For a momenthe was afraid the older man would go for his sword. It was a short, ugly thing,its grip discolored by sweat, its edge nicked from hard use, but Will would nothave given an iron bob for the lordling’s life if Gared pulled it from itsscabbard.

盖瑞的斗篷遮住了他的脸，但威尔还是看得到他瞪骑士时的眼神。他一度害怕这老头会冲动地拔剑动粗。老头的剑虽然又短又丑，剑柄早被汗渍浸得没了颜色，剑刃也因长期使用而布满缺口，但若盖瑞真的拔剑，威尔知道那贵族公子哥儿必死无疑。

   Finally Gared looked down. “No fire,” hemuttered, low under his breath.

最后盖瑞低下头。“那就算了”。他讪讪地说。

   Royce took it for acquiescence and turnedaway. “Lead on,” he said to Will.

罗伊斯于是妥协，“带路罢”。他对威尔说。

   Will threaded their way through a thicket,then started up the slope to the low ridge where he had found his vantage pointunder a sentinel tree. Under the thin crust of snow, the ground was damp andmuddy, slick footing, with rocks and hidden roots to trip you up. Will made nosound as he climbed. Behind him, he heard the soft metallic slither of thelordling’s ringmail, the rustle of leaves, and muttered curses as reachingbranches grabbed at his longsword and tugged on his splendid sable cloak.

威尔领他穿越浓密树丛，爬上低缓斜坡，朝山脊走去，他先前便是在那儿的一棵树下找到藏身处所。薄薄的积雪底，地面潮湿而泥泞，极易滑倒，石块和暗藏的树根也能绊人一跤。威尔爬坡时没有发出任何声响，身后却不时传来公子哥环甲的金属碰撞，叶子摩擦，以及分叉枝干绊住他的长剑，勾住他漂亮貂皮斗篷时所发出的咒骂声。

   The great sentinel was right there at thetop of the ridge, where Will had known it would be, its lowest branches a barefoot off the ground. Will slid in underneath, flat on his belly in the snow andthe mud, and looked down on the empty clearing below.

威尔知道那棵大哨兵树位于山脊最高处，底部枝干离地仅有一尺。于是他爬进矮树丛，平趴在残雪和泥泞里，往下方空旷的平地望去。

   His heart stopped in his chest. For a momenthe dared not breathe. Moonlight shone down on the clearing, the ashes of thefirepit, the snow-covered lean-to, the great rock, the little half-frozenstream. Everything was just as it had been a few hours ago.

他的心脏停止了跳动，好一阵不敢呼吸。月光洒落在空地上，映照出营火余烬，白雪覆盖的岩石，半结冰的小溪，全都和数小时前所见一模一样。

   They were gone. All the bodies were gone.

惟一的差别是，所有的人都不见了。

   “Gods!” he heard behind him. A sword slashedat a branch as Ser Waymar Royce gained the ridge. He stood there beside thesentinel, longsword in hand, his cloak billowing behind him as the wind cameup, outlined nobly against the stars for all to see.

“诸神保佑！”他听见背后传来的声音。威玛·罗伊斯爵士挥剑劈砍树枝，总算上了坡顶。他站在哨兵树旁，手握宝剑，披风被吹得噼啪作响，明亮的星光清楚地勾勒出他高贵的身影。

   “Get down!” Will whispered urgently.“Something’s wrong.”

“快趴下来！”威尔焦急地低声说：“出怪事了。”

   Royce did not move. He looked down at theempty clearing and laughed. “Your dead men seem to have moved camp, Will.”

罗伊斯没动，他俯瞰着下面空荡荡的平地笑道：“威尔，看来你说的那些死人转移阵地啰。”

   Will’s voice abandoned him. He groped forwords that did not come. It was not possible. His eyes swept back and forthover the abandoned campsite, stopped on the axe. A huge double-bladedbattle-axe, still lying where he had seen it last, untouched. A valuableweapon?.?.?.?

威尔仿佛突然间丧失了说话能力，他竭力寻找合适的字眼，却徒劳无功。怎么会有这种事，他的视线在荒废的营地中来回扫视，最后停留在那柄斧头上。这么一把巨大的双刃战斧，竟会留在原地纹丝不动。照说这么值钱的家伙……

   “On your feet, Will,” Ser Waymar commanded.“There’s no one here. I won’t have you hiding under a bush.”

“威尔，起来罢。”威玛爵士命令道，“这里没人，躲躲藏藏的，成何体统！”

   Reluctantly, Will obeyed.

威尔很不情愿地照办。

   Ser Waymar looked him over with opendisapproval. “I am not going back to Castle Black a failure on my firstranging. We will find these men.” He glanced around. “Up the tree. Be quick aboutit. Look for a fire.”

威玛爵士不满地上下打量他。“我可不想第一次巡逻就铩羽而归。我们一定要找到这些家伙。”他环顾四周。“爬到树上去看看，动作快，注意附近有没有火光。”

   Will turned away, wordless. There was no useto argue. The wind was moving. It cut right through him. He went to the tree, avaulting grey-green sentinel, and began to climb. Soon his hands were stickywith sap, and he was lost among the needles. Fear filled his gut like a meal hecould not digest. He whispered a prayer to the nameless gods of the wood, andslipped his dirk free of its sheath. He put it between his teeth to keep bothhands free for climbing. The taste of cold iron in his mouth gave him comfort.

威尔无言地转身，知道辩解无益。风势转强，有如刀割。他走到高耸笔直的青灰色哨兵树旁开始往上爬。很快他便消失在无边松针里，双手沾满树汁。恐惧像肚里一顿难以消化的饭菜，他只能向不知名的森林之神默祷，一边抽出匕首，用牙咬住，空出双手攀爬。嘴里冰冷的兵器让他稍微安了点心。

   Down below, the lordling called outsuddenly, “Who goes there?” Will heard uncertainty in the challenge. He stoppedclimbing; he listened; he watched.

下方突然传来年轻贵族的喊叫。“谁在那里？”威尔在他的恫吓中听出了不安，便停止爬行，凝神谛听，仔细观察。

   The woods gave answer: the rustle of leaves,the icy rush of the stream, a distant hoot of a snow owl.

森林给了他答案：树叶沙沙作响，寒溪潺潺脉动，远方传来雪枭的呐喊。

   The Others made no sound.

异鬼无声无息地出现。

   Will saw movement from the corner of hiseye. Pale shapes gliding through the wood. He turned his head, glimpsed a whiteshadow in the darkness. Then it was gone. Branches stirred gently in the wind,scratching at one another with wooden fingers. Will opened his mouth to calldown a warning, and the words seemed to freeze in his throat. Perhaps he waswrong. Perhaps it had only been a bird, a reflection on the snow, some trick ofthe moonlight. What had he seen, after all?

威尔的眼角余光瞄到白色身影穿过树林。他转过头，看见黑暗中一道白影，随即又消失不见。树枝在风中微微悸动，伸出木指彼此搔抓。威尔张口想出声警告，言语却冻结在他的喉头。或许是看错了，或许那不过是只鸟，或是雪地上的反光，更或许是月光造成的错觉。他到底看到了什么？

   “Will, where are you?” Ser Waymar called up.“Can you see anything?” He was turning in a slow circle, suddenly wary, hissword in hand. He must have felt them, as Will felt them. There was nothing tosee. “Answer me! Why is it so cold?”

“威尔，你在哪里？”威玛爵士朝上方喊，“你看到什么了吗？”他突然提高警觉，手中持剑缓缓转圈。他一定也和威尔一样感觉到了。然而四周却空无一人。“快回答我！这里为什么这么冷？”

   It was cold. Shivering, Will clung moretightly to his perch. His face pressed hard against the trunk of the sentinel.He could feel the sweet, sticky sap on his cheek.

这里真的非常冷。威尔颤抖着抱紧树干，面颊贴住哨兵树的树皮。黏稠而甜腻的树汁流到他脸上。

   A shadow emerged from the dark of the wood.It stood in front of Royce. Tall, it was, and gaunt and hard as old bones, withflesh pale as milk. Its armor seemed to change color as it moved; here it waswhite as new-fallen snow, there black as shadow, everywhere dappled with thedeep grey-green of the trees. The patterns ran like moonlight on water withevery step it took.

一道阴影突然自树林暗处冒出，站到罗伊斯面前。它的体型十分高大，憔悴坚毅浑似枯骨，肤色苍白如同乳汁。它的盔甲似乎会随着移动而改变颜色，一会儿白如新雪，一会儿黑如暗影，处处点缀着森林的深奥灰绿。它每走一步，其上的图案便似水面上的粼粼月光般不断改变。

   Will heard the breath go out of Ser WaymarRoyce in a long hiss. “Come no farther,” the lordling warned. His voice crackedlike a boy’s. He threw the long sable cloak back over his shoulders, to freehis arms for battle, and took his sword in both hands. The wind had stopped. Itwas very cold.

威尔只听威玛·罗伊斯爵士倒抽一口冷气。“不要过来！”贵族少爷警告对方，声音却小得像个孩童。他将那件长长的貂皮大衣翻到背后，空出活动空间，双手持剑。风已停，寒彻骨。

   The Other slid forward on silent feet. Inits hand was a longsword like none that Will had ever seen. No human metal hadgone into the forging of that blade. It was alive with moonlight, translucent,a shard of crystal so thin that it seemed almost to vanish when seen edge-on.There was a faint blue shimmer to the thing, a ghost-light that played aroundits edges, and somehow Will knew it was sharper than any razor.

异鬼安静地向前滑行，手中握着长剑，威尔从没见过类似的武器。那是把半透明的剑，材质完全不是人类所使用的金属，更像是一片极薄的水晶碎片，倘若平放刃面，几乎无从发现。它与月光相互辉映，剑身周围有股淡淡而诡异的蓝光。不知怎地，威尔明白这柄剑比任何剃刀都要锋利。

   Ser Waymar met him bravely. “Dance with methen.” He lifted his sword high over his head, defiant. His hands trembled fromthe weight of it, or perhaps from the cold. Yet in that moment, Will thought,he was a boy no longer, but a man of the Night’s Watch.

威玛爵士勇敢地迎上前去。“既然如此，我们就来较量较量罢。”他举剑过头，语带挑衅。虽然他的手不知因为重量或是酷寒而颤抖，威尔却觉得在那一刻，他已经不再是个软弱怯懦的少年，而成了真正的守夜人男子汉。

   TheOther halted. Will saw its eyes; blue, deeper and bluer than any human eyes, ablue that burned like ice. They fixed on the longsword trembling on high,watched the moonlight running cold along the metal. For a heartbeat he dared tohope.

异鬼停住脚步。威尔看到了它的眼睛，那是一种比任何人眼都要湛蓝深邃的颜色，如玄冰一般冷冷燃烧。它把视线停留在对方高举的颤抖着的剑上，凝视着冷冷月光在金属剑缘流动。那一刹那，威尔觉得事情还有转机。

   They emerged silently from the shadows,twins to the first. Three of them?.?.?.?four?.?.?.?five?.?.?.?Ser Waymar mayhave felt the cold that came with them, but he never saw them, never heardthem. Will had to call out. It was his duty. And his death, if he did. Heshivered, and hugged the tree, and kept the silence.

此时它们静悄悄地从阴影里冒出来，与第一个异鬼长得一模一样，三个……四个……五个……，威玛爵士或许能感觉伴随他们而来的寒意，但他既没看到它们、也没听见它们的声音。威尔应该警告他，毕竟那是他职责所在。然而一旦出声，他便必死无疑。于是他颤抖着紧抱树干，不敢作声。

   The pale sword came shivering through theair.

惨白的长剑厉声破空。

   Ser Waymar met it with steel. When theblades met, there was no ring of metal on metal; only a high, thin sound at theedge of hearing, like an animal screaming in pain. Royce checked a second blow,and a third, then fell back a step. Another flurry of blows, and he fell backagain.

威玛爵士举起钢剑迎敌。当两剑交击，发出的却非金属碰撞，而是一种位于人类听觉极限边缘，又高又细，像是动物痛苦哀嚎的声音。罗伊斯挡住第二道攻击，接着是第三道，然后退了一步。又一阵刀光剑影之后，他再度后退。

   Behind him, to right, to left, all aroundhim, the watchers stood patient, faceless, silent, the shifting patterns oftheir delicate armor making them all but invisible in the wood. Yet they madeno move to interfere.

在他左右两侧，前后周围，其余异鬼耐心地伫立旁观。它们一声不吭，面无表情，盔甲上不断变化的细致图案在树林中格外显眼。它们迟迟未出手干预。

   Again and again the swords met, until Willwanted to cover his ears against the strange anguished keening of their clash.Ser Waymar was panting from the effort now, his breath steaming in themoonlight. His blade was white with frost; the Other’s danced with pale bluelight.

两人不断交手，直到威尔想要捂住耳朵，再也无法忍受武器碰撞时刺耳的诡异声响。威玛爵士的呼吸开始急促，呼出的气在月光下蒸腾如烟。他的长剑已结满白霜，异鬼的剑则依旧闪耀着苍蓝光芒。

   Then Royce’s parry came a beat too late. Thepale sword bit through the ringmail beneath his arm. The young lord cried outin pain. Blood welled between the rings. It steamed in the cold, and thedroplets seemed red as fire where they touched the snow. Ser Waymar’s fingersbrushed his side. His moleskin glove came away soaked with red.

这时罗伊斯一记挡格慢了一拍，惨白色的剑顿时咬穿他腋下环甲。年轻贵族痛苦地喊了一声，鲜血流淌在铁环间，炽热的血液在冷空气中蒸汽朦朦，滴到雪地的血泊，红得像火。威玛爵士伸手按住伤口，鼹鼠皮手套整个浸成鲜红。

   The Other said something in a language thatWill did not know; his voice was like the cracking of ice on a winter lake, andthe words were mocking.

异鬼开口用一种威尔听不懂的语言说了几句话，声音如冰湖碎裂，腔调充满嘲弄。

   Ser Waymar Royce found his fury. “ForRobert!” he shouted, and he came up snarling, lifting the frost-coveredlongsword with both hands and swinging it around in a flat sidearm slash withall his weight behind it. The Other’s parry was almost lazy.

威玛·罗伊斯爵士找回了勇气。“劳勃国王万岁！”他高声怒吼，双手紧紧握住覆满白霜的长剑，使尽全身力气疯狂挥舞。异鬼泰然自若。

   When the blades touched, the steelshattered.

两剑相击，钢剑应声碎裂。

   A scream echoed through the forest night,and the longsword shivered into a hundred brittle pieces, the shards scatteringlike a rain of needles. Royce went to his knees, shrieking, and covered hiseyes. Blood welled between his fingers.

尖叫声回荡在深夜的林里，罗伊斯的长剑裂成千千碎片，如同一阵针雨四散甩落。罗伊斯惨叫着跪下，伸手捂住双眼，鲜血从他指缝间汩汩流下。

   The watchers moved forward together, as ifsome signal had been given. Swords rose and fell, all in a deathly silence. Itwas cold butchery. The pale blades sliced through ringmail as if it were silk.Will closed his eyes. Far beneath him, he heard their voices and laughter sharpas icicles.

旁观的异鬼仿佛接收到什么讯号，这时一涌向前。一片死寂之中，剑雨纷飞，这是场冷酷的屠杀。惨白的剑刃砍丝般切进环甲。威尔闭上眼睛。他听见地面上远远传来它们的谈笑声，尖利一如冰针。

   When he found the courage to look again, along time had passed, and the ridge below was empty.

良久，他终于鼓起勇气睁开眼睛。树下的山脊空无一人。

   He stayed in the tree, scarce daring tobreathe, while the moon crept slowly across the black sky. Finally, his musclescramping and his fingers numb with cold, he climbed down.

月亮缓缓爬过漆黑的天幕，但他依旧留在树上，吓得大气也不敢出。最后，他驱动抽筋的肌肉和冻僵的手指，爬回树下。

   Royce’s body lay facedown in the snow, onearm outflung. The thick sable cloak had been slashed in a dozen places. Lyingdead like that, you saw how young he was. A boy.

罗伊斯的尸体面朝下倒卧在雪地里，一只手臂朝外伸出，厚重的貂皮披风被砍得惨不忍睹。见他命丧于此，才发现他原来有多年轻，不过是个大孩子罢了。

   He found what was left of the sword a fewfeet away, the end splintered and twisted like a tree struck by lightning. Willknelt, looked around warily, and snatched it up. The broken sword would be hisproof. Gared would know what to make of it, and if not him, then surely thatold bear Mormont or Maester Aemon. Would Gared still be waiting with thehorses? He had to hurry.

他在几尺外找到断剑的残骸，剑身像遭雷击的树顶支离破碎。威尔弯下腰，小心翼翼地环顾四周之后才把剑捡起来。他要拿这柄断剑当证物，盖瑞会知道该怎么做。就算他不知道，“熊老”莫尔蒙或伊蒙学士也一定有办法。盖瑞还守着马匹等他回去么？最好加快脚步。

   Will rose. Ser Waymar Royce stood over him.

威尔起身。威玛·罗伊斯爵士站在他面前。

   His fine clothes were a tatter, his face aruin. A shard from his sword transfixed the blind white pupil of his left eye.

他的华裳尽碎，容貌全毁，断剑的裂片反映出他左眼瞳孔的一片茫然。

   The right eye was open. The pupil burnedblue. It saw.

他的右眼却是张开的，瞳孔中烧着蓝火，看着活人。

   The broken sword fell from nervelessfingers. Will closed his eyes to pray. Long, elegant hands brushed his cheek,then tightened around his throat. They were gloved in the finest moleskin andsticky with blood, yet the touch was icy cold.

断剑从威尔无力的手中落下，他闭眼默祷。优雅修长的双手拂过他的两颊，掐住他的咽喉。这双手虽然包裹在最上等的鼹鼠皮手套里，且满是黏稠血块，却冰冷无比。

※※※※※※

　　①野人：指居住在绝境长城以北，不在王国法律统治之下的人。他们的首领是曼斯·雷德，号称“塞外之王”。

　　②守夜人：一支驻守王国最北绝境长城的部队，因身着黑衣，以对付长城外的各种威胁为职责而得名。

　　③自由骑手：雇佣兵的一种，拥有马匹，但并无骑士身份。

　　④在冰与火之歌的世界里，四季的持续时间与地球不同，四季均可逾年，甚至长达数年。一个人一生能够经历的冬季和夏季次数相当少。

　　⑤学士为一身兼学者、医生、教师、顾问之职业。有时亦翻作“师傅”，作为较口语、较亲昵之用法。在国王的御前会议中拥有席位的大学士亦称作“国师”。