Ⅳ 群鸦的盛宴 Chapter45 山姆威尔

SAMWELL

最危险的一段航程是末尾。正如在泰洛西收到的警告，雷德温海峡挤满了长船，而青亭岛的主力舰队此刻尚远在维斯特洛另一侧。铁岛人洗劫了莱安港，并将蔓藤镇和海星港据为己有，以此为巢穴打劫前往旧镇的船只。

The most perilous part of the voyage was the last. The Redwyne Straits were swarming with longships, as they had been warned in Tyrosh. With the main strength of the Arbor’s fleet on the far side of Westeros, the ironmen had sacked Ryamsport and taken Vinetown and Starfish Harbor for their own, using them as bases to prey on shipping bound for Oldtown.

船顶鸦巢上的人们三次观察到长船。有两次是远远跟在船尾，月桂风号很快便甩掉了它们，第三艘出现在日落时分，企图挡住前往低语湾的去路。他们看着她的船桨起起落落，将黄铜色水面搅成白色。蔻佳·莫让弓箭手们登上前楼，他们巨大的金心木弓比多恩的紫衫木弓射得更远更准，等长船进入两百码距离，她才下令放箭。山姆跟他们一起射，这次他觉得自己的箭射到了船上。一次齐射足矣，长船转向南方，寻找更驯服的猎物。

Thrice longships were sighted by the crow’s nest. Two were well astern, however, and the Cinnamon Wind soon outdistanced them. The third appeared near sunset, to cut them off from Whispering Sound. When they saw her oars rising and falling, lashing the copper waters white, Kojja Mo sent her archers to the castles with their great bows of goldenheart that could send a shaft farther and truer than even Dornish yew. She waited till the longship came within two hundred yards before she gave the command to loose. Sam loosed with them, and this time he thought his arrow reached the ship. One volley was all it took. The longship veered south in search of tamer prey.

进入低语湾时，深蓝的黄昏已经降临。吉莉抱着婴儿站在船首像边，凝视着悬崖上的城堡。“那是三塔堡，”山姆告诉她，“科托因家族的居城。”城堡镂刻在夜星之间，映衬着窗户里闪烁的火光。看着这副辉煌壮丽的景象，他却感到悲哀，因为他们的航程即将结束了。

A deep blue dusk was falling as they entered Whispering Sound. Gilly stood beside the prow with the babe, gazing up at a castle on the cliffs. “Three Towers,” Sam told her, “the seat of House Costayne.” Etched against the evening stars with torchlight flickering from its windows, the castle made a splendid sight, but he was sad to see it. Their voyage was almost at its end.

“它好高啊。”吉莉道。

“It’s very tall,” said Gilly.

“等你看到参天塔再说吧。”

“Wait until you see the Hightower.”

妲娜的婴儿开始哭闹。吉莉赶紧拉开上衣，把乳头塞给孩子。婴儿喝奶时，吉莉微笑着轻抚他的棕发。她喜欢这孩子跟喜欢留在长城那个一样了，山姆意识到。他希望诸神对这两个孩子都仁慈一些。

Dalla’s babe began to cry. Gilly pulled open her tunic and gave the boy her breast. She smiled as he nursed, and stroked his soft brown hair. She has come to love this one as much as the one she left behind, Sam realized. He hoped that the gods would be kind to both of the children.

铁民们甚至潜入了低语湾中历来平和的水域。第二天早上，随着月桂风号继续向旧镇前进，船只开始撞到顺流入海的浮尸。有些尸体上搭载着乌鸦，当天鹅船搅动这些肿胀畸形的“小舟”时，它们便飞入空中，吵闹着抗议。岸边是焦灼的田野和焚毁的村庄，浅滩与沙洲上点缀着散架的船只，其中多数是商船和渔船，偶而也看见弃置的长船，甚至有两艘大帆船的残骸。一艘吃水线以上全被烧毁，另一艘船壳侧面有个撞裂的大洞。

The ironmen had penetrated even to the sheltered waters of Whispering Sound. Come morning, as the Cinnamon Wind continued on toward Oldtown, she began to bump up against corpses drifting down to the sea. Some of the bodies carried complements of crows, who rose into the air complaining noisily when the swan ship disturbed their grotesquely swollen rafts. Scorched fields and burned villages appeared on the banks, and the shallows and sandbars were strewn with shattered ships. Merchanters and fishing boats were the most common, but they saw abandoned longships too, and the wreckage of two big dromonds. One had been burned down to the waterline, whilst the other had a gaping splintered hole in her side where her hull had been rammed.

“这儿打过仗，”崇说，“不久之前打的。”

“Battle here,” said Xhondo. “Not so long.”

“谁会如此疯狂，把手伸到离旧镇这么近的地方？”

“Who would be so mad as to raid this close to Oldtown?”

崇指指一艘半沉入浅滩的长船。船尾悬着一面旗帜的残骸，破破烂烂，沾染烟尘。上面的标记山姆从没见过：两只乌鸦撑起一顶黑铁冠，下面是一只黑瞳红眼。“那是谁的旗帜？”山姆问。崇耸耸肩。

Xhondo pointed at a half-sunken longship in the shallows. The remnants of a banner drooped from her stern, smoke-stained and ragged. The charge was one Sam had never seen before: a red eye with a black pupil, beneath a black iron crown supported by two crows. “Whose banner is that?” Sam asked. Xhondo only shrugged.

次日阴冷多雾，月桂风号静悄悄地经过又一个遭遇洗劫的渔村。一艘划桨战舰从雾中驶出，缓缓地向他们划来。她的船首像是个纤瘦少女，以树叶蔽体，挥舞着长矛，船身上刻有“女猎人”的名字。片刻之后，两艘较小的划桨船出现在她两侧，仿佛紧跟在主人身边的一对灰猎犬。令山姆欣慰的是，除了旧镇海塔尔家族的顶端为烽火台的阶梯状白塔旗，船上还飘扬着托曼国王的雄鹿狮子旗。

The next day was cold and misty. As the Cinnamon Wind was creeping past another plundered fishing village, a war galley came sliding from the fog, stroking slowly toward them. Huntress was the name she bore, behind a figurehead of a slender maiden clad in leaves and brandishing a spear. A heartbeat later, two smaller galleys appeared on either side of her, like a pair of matched greyhounds stalking at their master’s heels. To Sam’s relief, they flew King Tommen’s stag-and-lion banner above the stepped white tower of Oldtown, with its crown of flame.

女猎人号船长高高的个子，烟灰色披风边缘镶着火焰状的红缎子。他把自己的船并排靠在月桂风号旁边，然后收桨，呼喊说要登船。他的十字弓手和蔻佳·莫的弓箭手隔着狭窄的水面对峙，他带着六个骑士过来，朝库胡卢·莫点点头，要求查看货舱。父女俩商量片刻之后同意了。

The captain of the Huntress was a tall man in a smoke-grey cloak with a border of red satin flames. He brought his galley in alongside the Cinnamon Wind, raised his oars, and shouted that he was coming aboard. As his crossbowmen and Kojja Mo’s archers eyed each other across the narrow span of water, he crossed over with half a dozen knights, gave Quhuru Mo a nod, and asked to see his holds. Father and daughter conferred briefly, then agreed.

“请原谅，”船长检查完毕之后说，“正派人不得不忍受失礼的待遇，真让我难过，但小心驶得万年船，我们不能让铁岛人混进旧镇。才两周前，那些混蛋在海峡中俘虏了一艘泰洛西商船，杀光船员后，穿上船员们的衣服，用找到的染料把胡子涂成五颜六色。一旦混进城，他们打算放火焚烧码头，趁我们忙于救火时从里面赚开城门。这计划差点成功，幸亏教塔楼夫人号撞上，她的桨手长有个泰洛西老婆，他看到那么多绿胡子紫胡子，就用泰洛西语呼喊致意，然而对方没一个人懂得如何回话。”

“My apologies,” the captain said when his inspection was complete. “It grieves me that honest men must suffer such discourtesy, but sooner that than ironmen in Oldtown. Only a fortnight ago some of those bloody bastards captured a Tyroshi merchantman in the straits. They killed her crew, donned their clothes, and used the dyes they found to color their whiskers half a hundred colors. Once inside the walls they meant to set the port ablaze and open a gate from within whilst we fought the fire. Might have worked, but they ran afoul of the Lady of the Tower, and her oarsmaster has a Tyroshi wife. When he saw all the green and purple beards he hailed them in the tongue of Tyrosh, and not one of them had the words to hail him back.”

山姆惊呆了，“他们竟想洗劫旧镇？”

Sam was aghast. “They cannot mean to raid Oldtown.”

女猎人号的船长好奇地看了他一眼。“这些不是简单的掠夺者。铁民天生都是强盗，喜欢从海上突然袭来，抢走金钱和女人后驶回远处，一次袭击就一两艘长船，从不多于半打。然而这回不同，现在有数百艘船在侵扰我们，他们从盾牌列岛和青亭岛附近的礁石堆里驶出，夺取了石蟹礁、群猪岛、人鱼殿，甚至在马蹄岩和野种湾建立了基地。没有雷德温大人的舰队，我们对付不了他们。”

The captain of the Huntress gave him a curious look. “These are no mere reavers. The ironmen have always raided where they could. They would strike sudden from the sea, carry off some gold and girls, and sail away, but there were seldom more than one or two longships, and never more than half a dozen. Hundreds of their ships afflict us now, sailing out of the Shield Islands and some of the rocks around the Arbor. They have taken Stonecrab Cay, the Isle of Pigs, and the Mermaid’s Palace, and there are other nests on Horseshoe Rock and Bastard’s Cradle. Without Lord Redwyne’s fleet, we lack the ships to come to grips with them.”

“海塔尔大人在做什么？”山姆冲口而出，“我父亲常说他跟兰尼斯特家一样富有，能招募的武士是高庭属下任何一位领主的三倍。”

“What is Lord Hightower doing?” Sam blurted. “My father always said he was as wealthy as the Lannisters, and could command thrice as many swords as any of Highgarden’s other bannermen.”

“倾尽旧镇的财力，还能招募更多，”船长说，“但除非大伙儿学会在水上行走，否则无济于事。”

“More, if he sweeps the cobblestones,” the captain said, “but swords are no good against the ironmen, unless the men who wield them know how to walk on water.”

“参天塔一定得行动起来。”

“The Hightower must be doing something.”

“那是当然。雷顿大人跟‘疯女’一起关在塔顶研究魔法书，或许他能从深渊地底招出一支军队。贝勒在建造船只，冈梭尔负责港口，加尔斯训练新兵，亨佛利去里斯寻找雇佣舰队。若他能从他的妓女姐姐琳妮丝那儿搞到一支像样的舰队，我们就可以以牙还牙。教训铁民。在此之前，充其量只能坚守阵地，等待君临的婊子太后解开拴住派克斯特大人的皮带。”

“To be sure. Lord Leyton’s locked atop his tower with the Mad Maid, consulting books of spells. Might be he’ll raise an army from the deeps. Or not. Baelor’s building galleys, Gunthor has charge of the harbor, Garth is training new recruits, and Humfrey’s gone to Lys to hire sellsails. If he can winkle a proper fleet out of his whore of a sister, we can start paying back the ironmen with some of their own coin. Till then, the best we can do is guard the sound and wait for the bitch queen in King’s Landing to let Lord Paxter off his leash.”

船长最后几句话的尖酸语气和他吐露的内容都令山姆倍感震惊。要是失去旧镇和青亭岛，整个国家就会瓦解，分崩离析，他一边寻思一边注视着女猎人号及其姐妹船离去。

The bitterness of the captain’s final words shocked Sam as much as the things he said. If King’s Landing loses Oldtown and the Arbor, the whole realm will fall to pieces, he thought as he watched the Huntress and her sisters moving off.

他开始怀疑角陵是否真正安全。诚然，塔利家族的领地位于内陆树林繁茂的丘陵地带，在旧镇东北方一百里格处，远离海岸。即使他父亲大人远征三河流域，城堡守备薄弱，家里也应该不至于遭受铁民和长船的攻击。但少狼主无疑也认为临冬城是安全的，直到某天晚上变色龙席恩爬上城墙。山姆很难想象，他为了让吉莉和婴儿免受伤害，带着他们长途跋涉，最后却将他们遗弃在战场。

It made him wonder if even Horn Hill was truly safe. The Tarly lands lay inland amidst thickly wooded foothills, a hundred leagues northeast of Oldtown and a long way from any coast. They should be well beyond the reach of ironmen and longships, even with his lord father off fighting in the riverlands and the castle lightly held. The Young Wolf had no doubt thought the same was true of Winterfell until the night that Theon Turncloak scaled his walls. Sam could not bear the thought that he might have brought Gilly and her babe all this long way to keep them out of harm, only to abandon them in the midst of war.

余下的航程中，他始终犹豫不决，不知如何是好。也许该让吉莉跟他一起留在旧镇，他心想，那儿的城墙远比父亲的城堡雄伟，难以逾越，还有数千卫兵，蓝道大人响应号召前往高庭时，或许没留几个人在角陵。倘若如此，他得设法把她藏起来；学城不许学徒眷养妻子或情人，至少不能公开。可假如我跟吉莉在一起天长日久，如何能有决心离开她？他必须离开她，不然就得做逃兵。我立过誓，山姆提醒自己，当逃兵意味着掉脑袋，这对吉莉又有什么帮助呢？

He wrestled with his doubts through the rest of the voyage, wondering what to do. He could keep Gilly with him in Oldtown, he supposed. The city’s walls were much more formidable than those of his father’s castle, and had thousands of men to defend them, as opposed to the handful Lord Randyll would have left at Horn Hill when he marched to Highgarden to answer his liege lord’s summons. If he did, though, he would need to hide her somehow; the Citadel did not permit its novices to keep wives or paramours, at least not openly. Besides, if I stay with Gilly very much longer, how will I ever find the strength to leave her? He had to leave her, or desert. I said the words, Sam reminded himself. If I desert, it will mean my head, and how will that help Gilly?

他考虑恳求蔻佳和她父亲带野人女孩去他们的盛夏群岛。然而这条路也有危险。月桂风号离开旧镇后，需再次穿越雷德温海峡，这回也许没那么幸运。假如风停了，盛夏群岛人被困在无风的海面上怎么办？假如他听说的故事是真的，吉莉会被抓去当奴工或盐妾，婴儿则有可能因为碍手碍脚而被抛入海中。

He considered begging Kojja Mo and her father to take the wildling girl with them to the Summer Isles. That path had its perils too, however. When the Cinnamon Wind left Oldtown, she would need to cross the Redwyne Straits again, and this time she might not be so fortunate. What if the wind died, and the Summer Islanders found themselves becalmed? If the tales he’d heard were true, Gilly would be carried off for a thrall or salt wife, and the babe was like to be chucked into the sea as a nuisance.

只能去角陵，山姆最后决定，一到旧镇，我就雇辆车，几匹马，亲自送她去那儿。他可以顺路察看一下城堡及其守备情况，倘若所见所闻让他有任何疑虑，便立刻带吉莉回旧镇。

It has to be Horn Hill, Sam finally decided. Once we reach Oldtown I’ll hire a wagon and some horses and take her there myself. That way he could make certain of the castle and its garrison, and if any part of what he saw or heard gave him pause, he could just turn around and bring Gilly back to Oldtown.

他们在一个阴冷潮湿的早晨抵达旧镇，雾气如此浓重，只能看见参天塔上的烽火。一条铁索横跨港口，连着二十来艘破破烂烂的废船，后面挨着一排战舰，旁边还有三艘大帆船和海塔尔伯爵高耸的旗舰——四排桨的旧镇荣耀号。在这里，月桂风号又被检查了一次，雷顿大人之子冈梭尔亲自登船。他身披银袍，穿灰色釉彩鳞甲。冈梭尔爵士在学城学过几年，会讲盛夏群岛语，因此他跟库忽鲁·莫去船长室私下交谈。

They reached Oldtown on a cold damp morning, when the fog was so thick that the beacon of the Hightower was the only part of the city to be seen. A boom stretched across the harbor, linking two dozen rotted hulks. Just behind it stood a line of warships, anchored by three big dromonds and Lord Hightower’s towering four-decked banner ship, the Honor of Oldtown. Once again the Cinnamon Wind had to submit to inspection. This time it was Lord Leyton’s son Gunthor who came aboard, in a cloth-of-silver cloak and a suit of grey enameled scales. Ser Gunthor had studied at the Citadel for several years and spoke the Summer Tongue, so he and Qurulu Mo adjourned to the captain’s cabin for a privy conference.

山姆利用这段时间向吉莉解释自己的计划。“先去学城，交付琼恩的信件，告诉他们伊蒙学士的死讯。我想博士们会派辆车来运他的尸体。然后我准备马匹和拖车，把你带去角陵我母亲那边。我尽量早点回来，不过也许得等到明天。”

Sam used the time to explain his plans to Gilly. “First the Citadel, to present Jon’s letters and tell them of Maester Aemon’s death. I expect the archmaesters will send a cart for his body. Then I will arrange for horses and a wagon to take you to my mother at Horn Hill. I will be back as soon as I can, but it may not be until the morrow.”

“明天哦。”她重复，然后给他一吻，祝他好运。

“The morrow,” she repeated, and gave him a kiss for luck.

冈梭尔终于出来了，他示意打开铁索，让月桂风号进入码头。天鹅船系上缆绳后，山姆跟蔻佳·莫和她的三个弓箭手一起来到踏板边，盛夏群岛人披着只有上岸时才穿的绚丽羽毛披风，在他们身边，他感觉寒碜得很，还是一身肥大的黑衣、褪色的斗篷跟沾染盐渍的靴子。“你们在港口待多久？”

At length Ser Gunthor reemerged and gave the signal for the chain to be opened so the Cinnamon Wind could slip through the boom to dock. Sam joined Kojja Mo and three of her archers near the gangplank as the swan ship was tying up, the Summer Islanders resplendent in the feathered cloaks they only wore ashore. He felt a shabby thing beside them in his baggy blacks, faded cloak, and salt-stained boots. “How long will you remain in port?”

“两天，十天，谁说得准？等清空货舱，再把它填满，我们就走。”蔻佳笑嘻嘻地说。“我父亲一定也会去拜访灰衣学士们。他有好些书要卖。”

“Two days, ten days, who can say? However long it takes to empty our holds and fill them again.” Kojja grinned. “My father must visit the grey maesters as well. He has books to sell.”

“吉莉能留在船上等我吗？”

“Can Gilly stay aboard till I return?”

“吉莉想待多久都行。”她戳戳山姆的肚子。“她不像某人那么贪吃。”

“Gilly can stay as long as she likes.” She poked Sam in the belly with a finger. “She does not eat so much as some.”

“我没以前胖了，”山姆辩解。南行的航程导致了这一结果。他不停地值班干活，除了水果和鱼又没什么可吃的。盛夏群岛人喜爱水果和鱼。

“I’m not so fat as I was before,” Sam said defensively. The passage south had seen to that. All those watches, and nothing to eat but fruit and fish. Summer Islanders loved fruit and fish.

山姆随弓箭手们走过踏板，但一到岸上，他们就分道扬镳。他希望自己仍记得去学城的路。旧镇是座迷宫，而他没时间迷路。

Sam followed the archers across the plank, but once ashore they parted company and went their separate ways. He hoped he still remembered the way to the Citadel. Oldtown was a maze, and he had no time for getting lost.

天气潮湿，脚下的鹅卵石又湿又滑，条条小巷全笼罩在迷雾之中。山姆尽可能避开它们，沿河边大路走，蜜酒河蜿蜒曲折，穿行于这座古老城市的中心地带。重新踩上坚实的地面，离开摇摇晃晃的甲板，感觉很美妙。然而行路之间他仍然不自在，他感到人们的视线落在自己身上，有的从阳台和窗户窥探下来，有的躲在黑暗的门洞里张望。在月桂风号上，他认识每一张脸，而这里都是陌生人。更糟的是，他担心被人认出来。蓝道·塔利伯爵在旧镇人人皆知，却不受爱戴。山姆不知哪样更糟，是被父亲的敌人认出，还是被他的朋友认出。他只能拉起斗篷，加快步伐。

The day was damp, so the cobblestones were wet and slippery underfoot, the alleys shrouded in mist and mystery. Sam avoided them as best he could and stayed on the river road that wound along beside the Honeywine through the heart of the old city. It felt good to have solid ground beneath his feet again instead of a rolling deck, but the walk made him feel uncomfortable all the same. He could feel eyes on him, peering down from balconies and windows, watching him from the darkened doorways. On the Cinnamon Wind he had known every face. Here, everywhere he turned he saw another stranger. Even worse was the thought of being seen by someone who knew him. Lord Randyll Tarly was known in Oldtown, but little loved. Sam did not know which would be worse: to be recognized by one of his lord father’s enemies or by one of his friends. He pulled his cloak up and quickened his pace.

学城大门两侧有一对高大的绿色斯芬克斯像，狮身，鹰翼，蛇尾，其中一只有男人的脸，另一只为女人的脸。进门是文书台，旧镇人来这儿寻找助理学士，为他们写遗嘱，读信件。五六个文书百无聊赖地坐在开放的摊位前等待顾客。另一些摊位可以买卖书籍。山姆在一个卖地图的摊位跟前停下，看了看一张手绘的学城地图，寻找去总管阁最近的路。

The gates of the Citadel were flanked by a pair of towering green sphinxes with the bodies of lions, the wings of eagles, and the tails of serpents. One had a man’s face, one a woman’s. Just beyond stood Scribe’s Hearth, where Oldtowners came in search of acolytes to write their wills and read their letters. Half a dozen bored scribes sat in open stalls, waiting for some custom. At other stalls books were being bought and sold. Sam stopped at one that offered maps, and looked over a hand-drawn map of Citadel to ascertain the shortest way to the Seneschal’s Court.

道路在戴伦一世的雕像前分叉，国王坐在高大的石马上，剑指多恩。此刻，一只海鸥停在少龙主头上，还有两只停在剑上。山姆走向左面，沿河边前进。在哭泣码头，他看着两名助理学士帮一个老人登上小船，准备去附近的血岛。一位年轻母亲跟在老人后面爬进去，怀中抱着哇哇啼哭的婴儿，跟吉莉的孩子差不多大。码头下面，几个帮厨小弟在浅滩中涉水捕捞青蛙。一群脸色粉嫩的小学徒从他身边匆匆跑过，向圣堂而去。我在他们这个年纪时，就该来这里，山姆心想，假如当时我偷偷逃走，换个假名字，也许可以消失在其他学徒之中。父亲会假装狄肯是他唯一的儿子，我怀疑他甚至不愿费神来找我，除非我骑骡子离开——他会追捕我，仅仅是为了骡子。

The path divided where the statue of King Daeron the First sat astride his tall stone horse, his sword lifted toward Dorne. A seagull was perched on the Young Dragon’s head, and two more on the blade. Sam took the left fork, which ran beside the river. At the Weeping Dock, he watched two acolytes help an old man into a boat for the short voyage to the Bloody Isle. A young mother climbed in after him, a babe not much older than Gilly’s squalling in her arms. Beneath the dock, some cook’s boys waded in the shallows, gathering frogs. A stream of pink-cheeked novices hurried by him toward the septry. I should have come here when I was their age, Sam thought. If I had run off and taken a false name, I could have disappeared amongst the other novices. Father could have pretended that Dickon was his only son. I doubt he would even have troubled to search for me, unless I took a mule to ride. Then he would have hunted me down, but only for the mule.

总管阁外，训导们正将某大龄学徒锁进储藏室。“从厨房偷东西。”其中一位训导向助理学士们解释，他们正等着用烂菜叶砸囚犯。山姆的黑斗篷如船帆一般在身后飘荡，他快步经过时，人们纷纷投来好奇的目光，

Outside the Seneschal’s Court, the rectors were locking an older novice into the stocks. “Stealing food from the kitchens,” one explained to the acolytes who were waiting to pelt the captive with rotting vegetables. They all gave Sam curious looks as he strode past, his black cloak billowing behind him like a sail.

门内是个大厅，石地板，高拱窗。大厅尽头有个脸瘦瘦的人坐在高台上，正用羽毛笔往一本册子上写字。此人虽身穿学士长袍，脖子上却没颈链。山姆清清嗓子，“早安。”

Beyond the doors he found a hall with a stone floor and high, arched windows. At the far end a man with a pinched face sat upon a raised dais, scratching in a ledger with a quill. Though the man was clad in a maester’s robe, there was no chain about his neck. Sam cleared his throat. “Good morrow.”

那人抬头观看，对所见到的似乎并不满意，“你有学徒的味道。”

The man glanced up and did not appear to approve of what he saw. “You smell of novice.”

“我希望能很快当上学徒。”山姆抽出琼恩·雪诺的信。“我来自长城，跟伊蒙学士一起来的，但他在航海途中去世了。我想跟总管谈谈……”

“I hope to be one soon.” Sam drew out the letters Jon Snow had given him. “I came from the Wall with Maester Aemon, but he died during the voyage. If I could speak with the Seneschal …”

“你的名字？”

“Your name?”

“山姆。山姆威尔·塔利。”

“Samwell. Samwell Tarly.”

那人在册子里写下来，然后挥挥羽毛笔，指指靠墙的长凳。“坐下。轮到你，我会叫你名字。”

The man wrote the name in his ledger and waved his quill at a bench along the wall. “Sit. You’ll be called when wanted.”

山姆在长凳上落座。

Sam took a seat on the bench.

其他人来来去去。有的带来消息后便告辞离去。有的跟高台上的人讲完话，便直接进入他身后的门，走上螺旋阶梯。有的加入山姆的行列，坐在板凳上等待传召。他几乎可以肯定，有几个被传召的人比他来得晚。当这种情况出现四五次之后，他站起身，再次走到大厅尽头。“还要等多久？”

Others came and went. Some delivered messages and took their leave. Some spoke to the man on the dais and were sent through the door behind him and up a turnpike stair. Some joined Sam on the benches, waiting for their names to be called. A few of those who were summoned had come in after him, he was almost certain. After the fourth or fifth time that happened, he rose and crossed the room again. “How much longer will it be?”

“总管事情多着呢。”

“The Seneschal is an important man.”

“我千里迢迢从长城赶来。”

“I came all the way from the Wall.”

“那再多等一会儿也没什么关系。”他挥挥羽毛笔。“去凳子上坐着，窗户下面。”

“Then you will have no trouble going a bit farther.” He waved his quill. “To that bench just there, beneath the window.”

他回到长凳上。又一个小时过去了。别人跟高台上的人讲完话，略等片刻就可以进去，看门人却始终没再抬头看山姆一眼。外面的雾气渐渐散去，苍白的阳光通过窗户斜射进来。他凝视着阳光中舞蹈的灰尘，不由自主地打起一个又一个呵欠。他拨弄着手掌中一个破裂的水泡，脑袋斜靠着墙壁，闭上眼晴。

Sam returned to the bench. Another hour passed. Others entered, spoke to the man on the dais, waited a few moments, and were ushered onward. The gatekeeper did not so much as glance at Sam in all that time. The fog outside grew thinner as the day wore on, and pale sunlight slanted down through the windows. He found himself watching dust motes dance in the light. A yawn escaped him, then another. He picked at a broken blister on his palm, then leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

他一定是打了瞌睡，因为接下来，他听到高台后的看门人在叫名字。山姆一下子站起来，然后意识到那不是自己的名字，就又坐了回去。

He must have drowsed. The next he knew, the man behind the dais was calling out a name. Sam came lurching to his feet, then sat back down again when he realized it was not his name.

“你得塞给罗卡斯一个铜板，否则会等上三天，”一个声音在旁边说，“守夜人为什么来学城？”

“You need to slip Lorcas a penny, or you’ll be waiting here three days,” a voice beside him said. “What brings the Night’s Watch to the Citadel?”

说话者是位纤瘦清秀的年轻人，穿鹿皮马裤和镶铁钉的绿色紧身甲。他的肤色仿佛淡褐色麦酒，一头浓密的黑鬈发，尖额头底下是黑色的大眼睛。“总司令正在修复废弃的城堡，”山姆解释，“我们需要更多学士来管理乌鸦……一个铜板，你刚才说一个铜板就行？”

The speaker was a slim, slight, comely youth, clad in doeskin breeches and a snug green brigandine with iron studs. He had skin the color of a light brown ale and a cap of tight black curls that came to a widow’s peak above his big black eyes. “The Lord Commander is restoring the abandoned castles,” Sam explained. “We need more maesters, for the ravens … did you say, a penny?”

“一个铜板就行。如果你肯出一枚银鹿，罗卡斯会直接带你去见他身后的总管。他做了五十年的助理学士，最憎恨学徒，尤其是贵族出身的学徒。”

“A penny will serve. For a silver stag Lorcas will carry you up to the Seneschal on his back. He has been fifty years an acolyte. He hates novices, particularly novices of noble birth.”

“你怎么看出来我是贵族出身？”

“How could you tell I was of noble birth?”

“就跟你能看出我有一半多恩血统一样。”他微笑着说，略微拖着多恩长音。

“The same way you can tell that I’m half Dornish.” The statement was delivered with a smile, in a soft Dornish drawl.

山姆摸出一个铜板。“你是学徒吗？”

Sam fumbled for a penny. “Are you a novice?”

“我是助理学士拉蕾萨，有些人叫我斯芬克斯。”

“An acolyte. Alleras, by some called Sphinx.”

这名字让山姆吃了一惊。“‘斯芬克斯即是谜题，并非出谜题者’，”他脱口而出，“你知道那是什么意思吗？”

The name gave Sam a jolt. “The sphinx is the riddle, not the riddler,” he blurted. “Do you know what that means?”

“不知道。这是个谜题吗？”

“No. Is it a riddle?”

“我知道就好了。我是山姆威尔·塔利。山姆。”

“I wish I knew. I’m Samwell Tarly. Sam.”

“幸会。山姆威尔·塔利找席奥博德博士有什么事呢？”

“Well met. And what business does Samwell Tarly have with Archmaester Theobald?”

“他是总管？”山姆疑惑地问，“伊蒙师傅说总管叫诺伦。”

“Is he the Seneschal?” said Sam, confused. “Maester Aemon said his name was Norren.”

“已过去两轮了。这里每年产生一位新总管，由博士们抽签决定，多数人认为这是个吃力不讨好的任务，迫使自己远离正经工作。今年沃格雷夫博士抽到了黑石头，但沃格雷夫常常神志不清，因此席奥博德自愿代替他。他脾气坏，但是个好人。你刚才说伊蒙师傅？”

“Not for the past two turns. There is a new one every year. They fill the office by lot from amongst the archmaesters, most of whom regard it as a thankless task that takes them away from their true work. This year the black stone was drawn by Archmaester Walgrave, but Walgrave’s wits are prone to wander, so Theobald stepped up and said he’d serve his term. He’s a gruff man, but a good one. Did you say Maester Aemon?”

“对啊。”

“Aye.”

“伊蒙·坦格利安？”

“Aemon Targaryen?”

“曾经是。人们大多就叫他伊蒙师傅。他在南行航程中去世了。你怎么会知道他？”

“Once. Most just called him Maester Aemon. He died during our voyage south. How is it that you know of him?”

“怎么会不知道？他不仅是活得最久的学士，更是维斯特洛最年长的人。他所经历的历史，比佩雷斯坦博士读过的还多。他可以告诉我们许许多多关于他父亲和他叔叔统治时期的事。他究竟多少岁了，你知道吗？”

“How not? He was more than just the oldest living maester. He was the oldest man in Westeros, and lived through more history than Archmaester Perestan has ever learned. He could have told us much and more about his father’s reign, and his uncle’s. How old was he, do you know?”

“一百零二。”

“One hundred and two.”

“他这么大年纪去海上干吗？”

“What was he doing at sea, at his age?”

对这个问题山姆考虑了一会儿，不知该说多少。斯芬克斯即是谜题，并非出谜题者。伊蒙师傅是指这位斯芬克斯吗？似乎不太可能。“雪诺总司令为救他性命才把他送走。”他犹豫不决地开讲。他笨嘴拙舌地说起史坦尼斯国王和亚夏的梅丽珊卓，本想就此打住，但一件事牵扯出另一件，他不由自主又讲到曼斯·雷德和野人们，讲到龙和国王之血，随后所有事情全涌了出来；先民拳峰上的尸鬼，骑死马的异鬼，熊老在卡斯特堡垒被杀害，吉莉和他逃出来，白树村和小保罗，冷手与乌鸦，琼恩成为总司令，黑鸟号，戴利恩，布拉佛斯，崇在魁尔斯见到的龙，月桂风号，伊蒙师傅临终前的喃喃低语。他只留出那些自己发誓保守的秘密，关于布兰·史塔克和他的伙伴们，还有琼恩调换的婴儿。“丹妮莉丝是唯一的希望，”他总结道，“伊蒙说学城必须立即派给她一名学士，将她及时带回家乡维斯特洛。”

Sam chewed on the question for a moment, wondering how much he ought to say. The sphinx is the riddle, not the riddler. Could Maester Aemon have meant this Sphinx? It seemed unlikely. “Lord Commander Snow sent him away to save his life,” he began, hesitantly. He spoke awkwardly of King Stannis and Melisandre of Asshai, intending to stop at that, but one thing led to another and he found himself speaking of Mance Rayder and his wildlings, king’s blood and dragons, and before he knew what was happening, all the rest came spilling out; the wights at the Fist of First Men, the Other on his dead horse, the murder of the Old Bear at Craster’s Keep, Gilly and their flight, Whitetree and Small Paul, Coldhands and the ravens, Jon’s becoming lord commander, the Blackbird, Dareon, Braavos, the dragons Xhondo saw in Qarth, the Cinnamon Wind and all that Maester Aemon whispered toward the end. He held back only the secrets that he was sworn to keep, about Bran Stark and his companions and the babes Jon Snow had swapped. “Daenerys is the only hope,” he concluded. “Aemon said the Citadel must send her a maester at once, to bring her home to Westeros before it is too late.”

拉蕾萨专心聆听。他不时眨眼睛，但从不发笑，也不从打断。山姆讲完后，他用纤瘦的褐色手掌轻触他的前臂，“省下铜板，山姆，席奥博德连一半都不会相信，但有人会信。你愿不愿跟我来？”

Alleras listened intently. He blinked from time to time, but he never laughed and never interrupted. When Sam was done he touched him lightly on the forearm with a slim brown hand and said, “Save your penny, Sam. Theobald will not believe half of that, but there are those who might. Will you come with me?”

“去哪里？”

“Where?”

“去跟某位博士谈话。”

“To speak with an archmaester.”

你必须转告他们，山姆，伊蒙学士说过，转告博士们。“好吧，”他明天也可以回来见总管，只需记得交一枚铜板，“有多远？”

You must tell them, Sam, Maester Aemon had said. You must tell the archmaesters. “Very well.” He could always return to the Seneschal on the morrow, with a penny in his hand. “How far do we have to go?”

“不远。在群鸦岛。”

“Not far. The Isle of Ravens.”

上群鸦岛无须小船，一座饱经风雨侵蚀的木吊桥连接着岛和东岸。“鸦楼是学城最古老的建筑，”跨越水流缓慢的蜜酒河时，拉蕾萨告诉他，“在英雄之纪元，那儿本是海盗领主的要塞，他坐镇于此，打劫顺流而下的船只。”

They did not need a boat to reach the Isle of Ravens; a weathered wooden drawbridge linked it to the eastern bank. “The Ravenry is the oldest building at the Citadel,” Alleras told him, as they crossed over the slow-flowing waters of the Honeywine. “In the Age of Heroes it was supposedly the stronghold of a pirate lord who sat here robbing ships as they came down the river.”

山姆看到青苔与蔓藤遮覆墙壁，城垛上，乌鸦代替了弓箭手。在人们的记忆中，吊桥从没升起来过。

Moss and creeping vines covered the walls, Sam saw, and ravens walked its battlements in place of archers. The drawbridge had not been raised in living memory.

要塞围墙内阴凉昏暗。一棵古老的鱼梁木占据整个院子，它见证了这些石块最初的情景。树干上雕出的人脸和苍白的树枝上都覆盖着厚厚一层紫色苔藓，半数枝权看上去已经枯死，其余地方仍有些许红叶婆娑，那便是乌鸦们喜欢的栖息地。只见树上落满了乌鸦，院子上方那一圈拱形窗户边还有更多。地面撒满粪便。穿过院子时，其中一只拍着翅膀从他们头顶飞过，其他乌鸦互相聒噪。“沃格雷夫博士的套房在西塔，白鸦巢下面，”拉蕾萨告诉他，“白家伙和黑家伙吵起来就像多恩人和边疆地人，因此要将两种乌鸦分开。”

It was cool and dim inside the castle walls. An ancient weirwood filled the yard, as it had since these stones had first been raised. The carved face on its trunk was grown over by the same purple moss that hung heavy from the tree’s pale limbs. Half of the branches seemed dead, but elsewhere a few red leaves still rustled, and it was there the ravens liked to perch. The tree was full of them, and there were more in the arched windows overhead, all around the yard. The ground was speckled by their droppings. As they crossed the yard, one flapped overhead and he heard the others quorking to each other. “Archmaester Walgrave has his chambers in the west tower, below the white rookery,” Alleras told him. “The white ravens and the black ones quarrel like Dornishmen and Marchers, so they keep them apart.”

“沃格雷夫博士会明白我的事吗？”山姆疑惑地说，“你说他常常神智不清。”

“Will Archmaester Walgrave understand what I am telling him?” wondered Sam. “You said his wits were prone to wander.”

“他时好时坏，”拉蕾萨道，“但你要见的不是沃格雷夫。”他打开通往北塔的门，开始攀爬。山姆跟在他后面登上阶梯。上方有翅膀拍打和嘀嘀咕咕的声音，时不时还传来一声愤怒的尖叫，那是乌鸦们抱怨被吵醒了。

“He has good days and bad ones,” said Alleras, “but it is not Walgrave you’re going to see.” He opened the door to the north tower and began to climb. Sam clambered up the steps behind him. There were flutterings and mutterings from above, and here and there an angry scream, as the ravens complained of being woken.

阶梯顶端，有个肤色白皙的金发年轻人坐在一扇橡木铁门外。他跟山姆差不多年纪，正用右眼专心致志地凝视一支蜡烛的火焰，左眼则隐藏在一缕悬垂的浅金色头发后面。“你在寻找什么？”拉蕾萨问他，“你的命运？你的死期？”

At the top of the steps, a pale blond youth about Sam’s age sat outside a door of oak and iron, staring intently into a candle flame with his right eye. His left was hidden beneath a fall of ash blond hair. “What are you looking for?” Alleras asked him. “Your destiny? Your death?”

金发年轻人的视线离开蜡烛，他转过头来，眨了眨眼。“裸女啊，”他说，“这位是谁？”

The blond youth turned from the candle, blinking. “Naked women,” he said. “Who’s this now?”

“山姆威尔。求见‘魔法师’的新学徒。”

“Samwell. A new novice, come to see the Mage.”

“学城跟以前不同了，”金发年轻人抱怨，“如今什么货都照单全收。黑狗儿啦，多恩佬啦，更别提猪倌、残废，智障之类了，现在又来了一头黑衣鲸鱼。嗨，我还以为海兽都是灰色的呢。”他披一件绿金条纹披肩，面貌十分英俊，但眼神闪烁，嘴巴恶毒。

“The Citadel is not what it was,” complained the blond. “They will take anything these days. Dusky dogs and Dornishmen, pig boys, cripples, cretins, and now a black-clad whale. And here I thought leviathans were grey.” A half cape striped in green and gold draped one shoulder. He was very handsome, though his eyes were sly and his mouth cruel.

山姆认识他。“里奥·提利尔，”说出这名字让他感觉自己仿佛仍是个会尿裤子的七岁男孩，“我是角陵的山姆，蓝道·塔利伯爵之子。”

Sam knew him. “Leo Tyrell.” Saying the name made him feel as if he were still a boy of seven, about to wet his smallclothes. “I am Sam, from Horn Hill. Lord Randyll Tarly’s son.”

“真的？”里奥又看了他一眼，“我想是的。你父亲告诉我们大家，你死了，看来他只是盼望你死？”他咧嘴笑笑。“你还是那么胆小如鼠？”

“Truly?” Leo gave him another look. “I suppose you are. Your father told us all that you were dead. Or was it only that he wished you were?” He grinned. “Are you still a craven?”

“不，”山姆撒谎。毕竟，琼恩下过命令。“我去长城外打过仗，现在他们叫我‘杀手’山姆。”他不知自己为何要如此夸耀。

“No,” lied Sam. Jon had made it a command. “I went beyond the Wall and fought in battles. They call me Sam the Slayer.” He did not know why he said it. The words just tumbled out.

里奥哈哈大笑，但他还不及回答，身后的门就开了。“进来，杀手，”门里的人低沉地说，“还有你，斯芬克斯。快点。”

Leo laughed, but before he could reply the door behind him opened. “Get in here, Slayer,” growled the man in the doorway. “And you, Sphinx. Now.”

“山姆，”拉蕾萨说，“这位便是马尔温博士。”

“Sam,” said Alleras, “this is Archmaester Marwyn.”

马尔温公牛般的脖子上戴着一条由无数金属串成的链子，除此之外，他看上去更像码头恶棍，而不像学士。他的脑袋相对身体来说太大，从双肩之间突出来向前探出的模样外加石板般的下巴，让他看起来好像正准备拧下别人的脑袋。尽管他生得矮胖，胸脯和肩膀却非常厚实。他不穿长袍，皮革上衣的带子被坚硬如石的浑圆酒肚子绷得紧紧的。挺立的白毛从他耳朵和鼻孔里钻出来。他额头突出，鼻梁断过不止一次，牙齿被酸草叶染成斑驳的红色。他有一双山姆毕生所见最大的手。

Marwyn wore a chain of many metals around his bull’s neck. Save for that, he looked more like a dockside thug than a maester. His head was too big for his body, and the way it thrust forward from his shoulders, together with that slab of jaw, made him look as if he were about to tear off someone’s head. Though short and squat, he was heavy in the chest and shoulders, with a round, rock-hard ale belly straining at the laces of the leather jerkin he wore in place of robes. Bristly white hair sprouted from his ears and nostrils. His brow beetled, his nose had been broken more than once, and sourleaf had stained his teeth a mottled red. He had the biggest hands that Sam had ever seen.

山姆还在犹豫，那双大手中的一只便抓住他胳膊，将他拉进门。里面是个圆形的大屋子，到处是书和卷轴，有些铺在桌面上，有些一摞一摞在地板上堆至四尺高。褪色的织锦和破破烂烂的地图挂满了石墙。炉膛烧着火，上面有只铜水壶，不知在煮什么，但有股烧焦的味道。除此之外，唯一的光亮来自房间中央一支高高的黑蜡烛。

When Sam hesitated, one of those hands grabbed him by the arm and yanked him through the door. The room beyond was large and round. Books and scrolls were everywhere, strewn across the tables and stacked up on the floor in piles four feet high. Faded tapestries and ragged maps covered the stone walls. A fire was burning in the hearth, beneath a copper kettle. Whatever was inside of it smelled burned. Aside from that, the only light came from a tall black candle in the center of the room.

那支蜡烛亮得让人不适，令人不安。马尔温博士用力关上门，把旁边桌上的纸都震了下去，蜡烛的火焰却没闪烁。火焰的颜色很古怪，白如新雪，黄如熔金，红似烈焰，但它留下的影子如此漆黑，仿佛世界的黑洞。山姆发现自己在盯着它看，蜡烛足有三尺高，细瘦似剑，螺旋状边沿锋利如刀，微微闪烁着黑光。“这是……？”

The candle was unpleasantly bright. There was something queer about it. The flame did not flicker, even when Archmaester Marwyn closed the door so hard that papers blew off a nearby table. The light did something strange to colors too. Whites were bright as fresh-fallen snow, yellow shone like gold, reds turned to flame, but the shadows were so black they looked like holes in the world. Sam found himself staring. The candle itself was three feet tall and slender as a sword, ridged and twisted, glittering black. “Is that …?”

“……黑曜石。”屋里另一个人说。这是位脸色苍白、胖胖的年轻人，圆肩膀，柔软的双手，两只眼睛靠得很近，袍子上有食物的污渍。

“… obsidian,” said the other man in the room, a pale, fleshy, pasty-faced young fellow with round shoulders, soft hands, close-set eyes, and food stains on his robes.

“叫它龙晶。”马尔温博士看了一会儿蜡烛。“它会燃烧，但不损耗。”

“Call it dragonglass.” Archmaester Marwyn glanced at the candle for a moment. “It burns but is not consumed.”

“那火焰没有燃料？”山姆惊奇地问。

“What feeds the flame?” asked Sam.

“龙焰靠什么燃料？”马尔温坐到一张凳子上。“瓦雷利亚巫术基于血与火。利用这种玻璃蜡烛，古自由堡垒的巫师的视线可以穿越高山、海洋和沙漠；坐在这种蜡烛跟前，他们能进入别人梦中展示幻像，或隔着半个世界互通信息。你觉得这有用吗，杀手？”

“What feeds a dragon’s fire?” Marwyn seated himself upon a stool. “All Valyrian sorcery was rooted in blood or fire. The sorcerers of the Freehold could see across mountains, seas, and deserts with one of these glass candles. They could enter a man’s dreams and give him visions, and speak to one another half a world apart, seated before their candles. Do you think that might be useful, Slayer?”

“我们就用不着乌鸦了。”

“We would have no more need of ravens.”

“打完仗才需要。”博士从一包酸草叶中剥出一片塞进嘴里咀嚼。“把你跟多恩的斯芬克斯讲过的一切再说一遍。我知道了很多，但有些细枝末节或许被忽略了。”

“Only after battles.” The archmaester peeled a sourleaf off a bale, shoved it in his mouth, and began to chew it. “Tell me all you told our Dornish sphinx. I know much of it and more, but some small parts may have escaped my notice.”

他是那种无法拒绝的人。山姆犹豫片刻，然后再次将故事讲给马尔温、拉蕾萨和另一个学徒听。“伊蒙师傅相信丹妮莉丝·坦格利安印证了预言……是她，不是史坦尼斯，不是雷加王子，也不是脑袋被撞碎在墙上的小王子。”

He was not a man to be refused. Sam hesitated a moment, then told his tale again as Marywn, Alleras, and the other novice listened. “Maester Aemon believed that Daenerys Targaryen was the fulfillment of a prophecy … her, not Stannis, nor Prince Rhaegar, nor the princeling whose head was dashed against the wall.”

“诞生于盐与烟之地，伴随着泣血之星。我知道预言。”马尔温扭头，吐了一口红色的黏液到地上。“不过我不信它。古吉斯帝国的高艮曾写道，预言犹如狡诈的女人。她会把你那玩意儿含在嘴里，让你愉悦地呻吟，脑子里想着，这是多么甜蜜，多么美妙，多么舒服……然后她骤然阖上牙齿，你的呻吟变成了尖叫。高艮认为这就是预言的本质，预言每次都会咬掉你的老二。”他咀嚼了几下。“话虽如此……”

“Born amidst salt and smoke, beneath a bleeding star. I know the prophecy.” Marwyn turned his head and spat a gob of red phlegm onto the floor. “Not that I would trust it. Gorghan of Old Ghis once wrote that a prophecy is like a treacherous woman. She takes your member in her mouth, and you moan with the pleasure of it and think, how sweet, how fine, how good this is … and then her teeth snap shut and your moans turn to screams. That is the nature of prophecy, said Gorghan. Prophecy will bite your prick off every time.” He chewed a bit. “Still …”

拉蕾萨走到山姆身边。“倘若伊蒙尚有力气，他会亲自去找丹妮莉丝。他要我们派一个学士给她，辅佐她，教导她，保护她，带她安全回家。”

Alleras stepped up next to Sam. “Aemon would have gone to her if he had the strength. He wanted us to send a maester to her, to counsel her and protect her and fetch her safely home.”

“是吗？”马尔温博士耸耸肩。“也许他在抵达旧镇之前去世是件好事，否则灰衣绵羊们只好动手杀人，想必那帮可怜的老家伙会难过得绞紧自己满是皱褶的手。”

“Did he?” Archmaester Marwyn shrugged. “Perhaps it’s good that he died before he got to Oldtown. Elsewise the grey sheep might have had to kill him, and that would have made the poor old dears wring their wrinkled hands.”

“杀他？”山姆震惊地问，“为什么？”

“Kill him?” Sam said, shocked. “Why?”

“若我将真相告诉你，他们或许只能把你也杀了。”马尔温惨笑一声，齿间带有酸草叶的红色汁液。“你以为龙是怎么绝种的？拿铁剑的屠龙勇士干的？”他啐了一口。“学城企图构建的世界中没有巫术、预言和玻璃蜡烛的位置，更不用说龙了。你扪心自问，伊蒙·坦格利安早该晋升为博士，为何在长城浪费余生。因为血统。血统导致他不被信任。跟我一样。”

“If I tell you, they may need to kill you too.” Marywn smiled a ghastly smile, the juice of the sourleaf running red between his teeth. “Who do you think killed all the dragons the last time around? Gallant dragonslayers armed with swords?” He spat. “The world the Citadel is building has no place in it for sorcery or prophecy or glass candles, much less for dragons. Ask yourself why Aemon Targaryen was allowed to waste his life upon the Wall, when by rights he should have been raised to archmaester. His blood was why. He could not be trusted. No more than I can.”

“你打算怎么做？”被称为斯芬克斯的拉蕾萨问。

“What will you do?” asked Alleras, the Sphinx.

“我要代替伊蒙去奴隶湾。杀手搭乘的那艘天鹅船对我来说足够了，我毫不怀疑，灰衣绵羊们会派人坐划桨船赶去，但假如风向顺遂，我可以先找到她。”马尔温又皱眉瞥了山姆一眼。“你……你应该留下来铸造颈链。我要是你，就会抓紧一切时间，很快，长城上需要你。”他转向脸色苍白的学徒。“给杀手找间干燥的屋子。他先帮你照看乌鸦。”

“Get myself to Slaver’s Bay, in Aemon’s place. The swan ship that delivered Slayer should serve my needs well enough. The grey sheep will send their man on a galley, I don’t doubt. With fair winds I should reach her first.” Marwyn glanced at Sam again, and frowned. “You … you should stay and forge your chain. If I were you, I would do it quickly. A time will come when you’ll be needed on the Wall.” He turned to the pasty-faced novice. “Find Slayer a dry cell. He’ll sleep here, and help you tend the ravens.”

“可——可——可是，”山姆结结巴巴地说，“其他博士……总管……我怎么跟他们交代？”

“B-b-but,” Sam sputtered, “the other archmaesters … the Seneschal … what should I tell them?”

“赞美他们的博学和好意；告诉他们，伊蒙把你托付给了他们；告诉他们，你一直梦想有一天能戴上颈链，为大人物服务，因为效忠是至高的荣耀，服从是无上的美德。但绝口不提预言或龙，除非你想粥里面被人下毒。”马尔温从门边木闩上取下一件褪色的皮斗篷，牢牢系到身上。“斯芬克斯，照顾好这家伙。”

“Tell them how wise and good they are. Tell them that Aemon commanded you to put yourself into their hands. Tell them that you have always dreamed that one day you might be allowed to wear the chain and serve the greater good, that service is the highest honor, and obedience the highest virtue. But say nothing of prophecies or dragons, unless you fancy poison in your porridge.” Marwyn snatched a stained leather cloak off a peg near the door and tied it tight. “Sphinx, look after this one.”

“好的。”拉蕾萨答应，但博士已离开了。他们听见他的靴子踏着楼梯走下去。

“I will,” Alleras answered, but the archmaester was already gone. They heard his boots stomping down the steps.

“他去哪儿？”山姆疑惑地问。

“Where has he gone?” asked Sam, bewildered.

“去码头。魔法师向来雷厉风行。”拉蕾萨微笑。“我向你坦白，山姆，我们并非偶遇。是魔法师派我来找你，抢在你面见席奥博德之前。他知道你来了。”

“To the docks. The Mage is not a man who believes in wasting time.” Alleras smiled. “I have a confession. Ours was no chance encounter, Sam. The Mage sent me to snatch you up before you spoke to Theobald. He knew that you were coming.”

“他怎么会……”

“How?”

拉蕾萨朝玻璃蜡烛点点头。

Alleras nodded at the glass candle.

山姆盯着那奇异苍白的火焰看了一会儿，眨眨眼，将视线移开。窗外天色越来越黑。

Sam stared at the strange pale flame for a moment, then blinked and looked away. Outside the window it was growing dark.

“西塔我的房间下有间空卧室，里面有条楼梯一直通往楼上沃格雷夫的套房，”脸色苍白的年轻人说，“假如你不介意乌鸦聒噪，杀手，可以住那里，平时能欣赏蜜酒河的景色。这样好吗？”

“There’s an empty sleeping cell under mine in the west tower, with steps that lead right up to Walgrave’s chambers,” said the pasty-faced youth. “If you don’t mind the ravens quorking, there’s a good view of the Honeywine. Will that serve?”

“好吧。”他总得有地方睡。

“I suppose.” He had to sleep somewhere.

“我给你拿些羊毛被单。即使是旧镇，石墙在夜里也会变冷的。”

“I will bring you some woolen coverlets. Stone walls turn cold at night, even here.”

“谢谢。”这个苍白柔弱的年轻人有种古怪的感觉，他不喜欢，但也不想失礼，因此补充道，“我不叫杀手。我是山姆。山姆威尔·塔利。”

“My thanks.” There was something about the pale, soft youth that he misliked, but he did not want to seem discourteous, so he added, “My name’s not Slayer, truly. I’m Sam. Samwell Tarly.”

“我是佩特，”对方说，“照着故事里的猪倌‘雀斑’佩特取的名。”

“I’m Pate,” the other said, “like the pig boy.”