第六章_鲜血与荣耀_魔兽小说_游戏英语_英语游戏

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SIX

A Sort of Homecoming

第六章

也是一种回家

It was twilight as the tired envoy made its way back to Mardenholde keep. It had begun to rain during the afternoon, and the weary horses trudged their way down the muddy road.

twilight: 黄昏 tired: 疲劳的 envoy: 特使 keep: 城堡 begin: 开始 during: 在…期间 afternoon: 下午 weary: 疲倦的 trudge: 步履艰难地走 muddy: 泥泞的

当疲劳的特使一路回到玛敦霍尔德城堡时，已经是黄昏了。从下午开始就一直下雨，疲倦的马匹沿着泥泞的道路步履艰难地走着。

Arden, leading the somber column of knights and footmen, looked back at Tirion worriedly. Tirion was slumped over in his saddle, heedless of what transpired around him.

lead: 带领 somber: 忧郁的 column: 纵队 knight: 骑士 footman: 步兵 look back: 回望 worriedly: 担心地 slump: 倒 saddle: 马鞍 heedless of: 不在意 transpire: 发生

阿尔顿，闷闷不乐地带领着由骑士和步兵组成地小分遣队，担心地回望着提里奥。提里奥倒在他的马鞍上，也不在意他周围发生了什么。

His broad shoulders drooped weakly and his head was bowed in grief. The ceaseless rain ran in rivulets down his haggard face.

broad: 宽大的 shoulder: 肩膀 droop: 下垂 weakly: 虚弱地 head: 头 bow: 低下 grief: 悲伤 ceaseless: 不停的 rivulet: 小溪 haggard: 憔悴的

他宽大的肩膀虚弱地低垂着，他的头悲伤地低着。持续的雨水如小溪般从他憔悴的脸庞流下。

Arden’s heart broke, seeing his former lord and master in such a state.

break: 破碎 former: 前任的 lord: 领主 master: 主人 state: 状态

看着他前任的领主，也是他的主人处于这样一种状态，阿尔顿的心都碎了。

He was forced to look away. Looking toward the keep, the captain saw that Tirion’s advisors had gathered at the main gate to greet their returning lord.

force: 强迫 look away: 转移目光 keep: 城堡 captain: 队长 advisor: 顾问 gather: 聚集 greet: 迎接 returning: 归来的 lord: 领主

他被迫看向一边。先前方看着城堡，队长看见提里奥的顾问们都聚集在大门那里迎接他们归来的领主。

Tirion’s stomach was tied in knots. He was blocked from the Light.

stomach: 胃 be tied in knots: 打结 block: 阻挡

提里奥的胃难受地如同打了结。他被阻挡在圣光之外。

In the thirty years that he had served as a Paladin, he never dreamed that the blessed power would be stripped from him.

serve: 服役 blessed: 被祝福的 power: 力量 be stripped from: 被剥夺

30年中，他作为一名圣骑士服役着，他从来没料到被祝福的力量会被从他身上剥夺。

He felt absolutely hollow inside. Wallowing in despair and misery, he was unable to even lift his eyes toward the sight of his former home.

absolutely: 完全地 hollow: 空的 inside: 在里面 wallow: 摇摆 despair: 绝望 misery: 痛苦 unable: 不能 lift: 抬起 sight: 景象 former: 以前的

他感觉身体里已经完全抽空了。带着绝望与痛苦颠簸着，他甚至不能抬眼看看他以前的家的景象。

Arden rode slowly up to the gate and dismounted. The advisors, at seeing Tirion’s near-comatose state, asked the captain what was wrong.

ride: 骑 slowly: 缓慢地 dismount: 下马 advisor: 顾问 near-comatose: 接近昏睡的 state: 状态 captain: 队长

阿尔顿慢慢骑上前到大门那，下马。顾问们看见提里奥近乎昏睡状态，就问队长出什么事了。

Arden grimaced. “There have been some changes,” he said to them curtly. The advisors looked at each other in confusion.

grimace: 作苦相 change: 变化 curtly: 简短地 advisor: 顾问 confusion: 困惑

阿尔顿作出痛苦的表情。“有些东西已经变了，”他对他们简短地说。顾问们困惑地互相看着。

“What do you mean, Captain? Where have you both been these past few days? What is wrong with our lord?” one of them asked heatedly.

past: 过去的 lord: 领主 heatedly: 热切地

“你什么意思，队长？这几天你们俩都在哪儿？我们领主出什么事了。”他们中的一个热切地问。

Arden bowed his head in shame and sorrow. “Our lord Tirion has been found guilty of treason against the Alliance,” he said with a heavy heart.

bow: 低下 shame: 羞愧 sorrow: 悲伤 guilty: 有罪的 treason: 通敌 alliance: 联盟 heavy: 沉重的

阿尔顿带着羞愧和悲伤低下他的头。“我们的领主提里奥被判犯对抗联盟之通敌罪，”他心情沉重地说。

“The High Court has ordered that he be exiled from our lands.” The advisors gasped in shock.

The High Court: 最高法庭 order: 命令 exile: 放逐 advisor: 顾问 gasp: 喘气 shock:震惊

“最高法庭已经下令他要被从我们的土地上放逐。”顾问们震惊地倒抽了一口气。

“Surely you must be mistaken. That’s impossible!” one of the advisors said shakily. He looked into Arden’s eyes and saw that it clearly was not.

surely: 肯定 mistaken: 搞错的 impossible: 不可能的 advisor: 顾问 shakily: 颤抖地 clearly: 明显地

“肯定是你搞错了。不可能啊！”一位顾问颤抖地说。他看着阿尔顿的眼神，看出明显不是说谎。

“It can’t be,” the advisor said blankly. Arden nodded grimly and helped Tirion dismount from his horse.

advisor: 顾问 blankly: 茫然地 nod: 点头 grimly: 可怕地 dismount: 下马

“不可能啊，”那顾问茫然地说道。阿尔顿让人觉得可怕地点点头，帮着提里奥从他的马上下来。

“Well, who is our lord now, Arden? Who will rule over Hearthglen?” another advisor asked.

lord: 领主 rule over: 统治 another: 另一个 advisor: 顾问

“那，谁是我们现在的领主，阿尔顿？谁来管理整个壁炉堡？”另外一个顾问问道。

Arden shook his head and scoffed as he answered, “Barthilas will be your new lord, for the time being.” It did sound like a bad joke, he thought to himself.

shake head: 摇头 scoff: 嘲笑 answer: 回答 for the time being: 暂时 joke: 笑话

阿尔顿摇了摇他的头，他回答中带着藐视，“巴瑟拉斯会是你们的新领主，就现在来讲是。”这听来简直像一个拙劣的笑话，他自己这么认为着。

He put his arm around Tirion and started to lead him inside. “I want the guards to stay alert tonight. Tirion is to remain here under house arrest.

put one’s arm around: 抱住 inside: 向里 guard: 守卫 alert: 警戒的 arrest: 监禁

他抱住提里奥开始带他向里走。“我要求守卫们今晚保持警戒。提里奥要留在这里软禁于家中。

At first light, I will take a party of footmen and escort him to the border. Until then, neither of us is to be disturbed. Is that clear?” the captain asked in a gravelly voice.

a party of: 一伙 footman: 步兵 escort: 护送 border: 边界 neither: 两个都不 disturb:打扰 clear: 清楚的 gravelly: 沙哑的 voice: 声音

天一亮，我就带一拨步兵护送他到边界。在那之前，我们俩都不能被打扰。清楚了吗？”队长用沙哑的声音要求道。

The shocked advisors merely nodded their assent.

shocked: 受惊的 advisor: 顾问 merely: 只是 nod: 点头 assent: 同意

受惊的顾问们只是点头同意。

Arden dragged Tirion in out of the rain and ushered him toward his private chambers, hoping that he wouldn’t have to face Karandra before morning.

drag: 拖 usher: 引领 private: 私人的 chamber: 房间 face: 面对

阿尔顿拖着提里奥进屋避雨，引领他向他的私人房间去，希望早上之前他不会被迫面对卡兰达拉。

Not for the first time, he wondered if there was anything that he could have done to prevent this all from happening.

wonder: 想知道 prevent: 阻止 happen: 发生

不只一次地，他思考着是不是有些该做没做的事情能阻止这一切发生。

Arden leaned Tirion against the wall outside his private chambers and opened the door.

lean: 倚靠 outside: 在…外面 private: 私人的 chamber: 房间

阿尔顿让提里奥靠在他私人房间外的墙上，然后开了门。

“Thanks for your help, Arden. This has been very difficult. I just wanted you to know that you’ve been a good friend to me. I’m sorry all this has happened,” the former Paladin said.

difficult: 困难的 sorry: 抱歉 happen: 发生 former: 前任的 paladin: 圣骑士

“谢谢你的帮助，阿尔顿。这是……很难熬的。我只是想让你明白，你是我的一个好朋友。我对发生的这一切感到抱歉，”前圣骑士说道。

Arden nodded and turned away slowly. “If there’s anything you need, let me know,” the captain said as he left.

nod: 点头 turn away: 转向一边 slowly: 慢慢地 captain: 队长

阿尔顿点着头，慢慢转向一边。“要是你需要什么，就告诉我，”队长说完离开了。

Tirion watched him leave and found just enough strength to close the door behind him and collapse in a chair. Overcome with emotion, he buried his face in his hands.

watch: 注视 strength: 力气 close: 关上 collapse: 崩溃 overcome: 压倒 emotion: 情感 bury: 掩住

提里奥目送他离开，觉得刚好有够力气关上身后的门，然后就崩溃在椅子里。情感压倒了他，他双手捂住脸。

His limbs would not stop shaking, and the gnawing emptiness in his gut threatened to devour what was left of his soul. He couldn’t face his wife and tell her what he’d done.

limb: 肢体 shake: 发抖 gnawing: 折磨人的 emptiness: 空虚 gut: 肠子 threaten: 威胁 devour: 吞食 soul: 灵魂

他的四肢停不下地发抖，他体内折磨人的空虚吞没了他灵魂剩下的部分。他无法面对他的妻子，告诉她他的所作所为。

Ironically, after all the years he’d refused to lie to her, he found now that he couldn’t bear to tell her the truth.

ironically: 讽刺地 refuse: 拒绝 lie: 撒谎 bear: 容忍 truth: 事实

讽刺地，这么多年来，他一直拒绝向她撒谎，他发现他现在无法容许自己对她讲真话。

The adjoining door to Taelan’s room opened and Karandra stepped out quietly, shutting it behind her. She looked surprised to see Tirion sitting there in the dark.

adjoining: 邻接的 step out: 走出去 quietly: 悄悄地 shut: 关上 surprised: 吃惊地

邻接着到泰兰的房间的门开了，卡兰达拉悄悄地走出来，背手关上门。她看起来吃惊地看着提里奥坐在暗处。

“Tirion, what has happened?” she asked urgently. She lit a decorative lantern, and its soft light bathed the room.

happen: 发生 urgently: 急切地 light: 点燃 decorative: 装饰的 lantern: 灯 soft: 柔和的 bath: 沐浴

“提里奥，出什么事了？”她急迫地问。她点燃了一盏装饰用的提灯，温柔的光线沐浴着房间。

Shadows danced across the walls as she knelt down beside her husband.

shadow: 影子 dance: 舞蹈 kneel down: 跪下 husband: 丈夫

影子在墙上舞动，她在她丈夫的身边跪下来。

“Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick.”

worry: 担心 sick: 生病

“你上哪儿了？我都快愁死了。”

“I accompanied Lord Dathrohan back to Stratholme,” he muttered, his head still bowed.

accompany: 陪伴 mutter: 嘀咕 bow: 低下

“我跟着达索汉去了斯坦索姆，”他低声含糊地说，他的头仍旧低着。

“You know, Tirion, you’ve been sneaking off quite a bit lately. If I didn’t know you any better, I’d assume that you were seeking comfort from another woman,” she said teasingly.

sneak off: 溜走 a bit: 一点 lately: 最近 assume: 认为 seek: 寻求 comfort: 安慰 teasingly: 揶揄地

“你明白的，提里奥，你最近老是动不动就脱身溜走。要不是我最了解你，我会想当然地认为你去和另外一个女人寻欢了，”她揶揄地说。

Tirion raised his head and looked at her. Seeing the deadened look in his eyes, she knew that he was not amused in the least.

raise: 抬起 deadended: 麻木的 look: 样子 amuse: 娱乐 in the least : 丝毫

提里奥抬起头看着她。看着他眼睛麻木无感觉的样子，她明白他丝毫没有被逗乐。

“Tirion, darling, what’s wrong? Has something happened to you?” she asked worriedly. He looked over toward Taelan’s room.

darling: 亲爱的 happen: 发生 worriedly: 担心地 look over: 察看

“提里奥，亲爱的，到底怎么了？你出什么事啦？”她担心地问。他仔细地看着泰兰的房间。

“Is the boy asleep?” he asked quietly. Karandra frowned and answered that he was.

asleep: 睡着了的 quietly: 轻轻地 frown: 皱眉 answer: 回答

“孩子睡着了？”他轻轻问。卡兰达拉一皱眉，回答道，他睡着了。

“I don’t quite know how to tell you this, my love,” he began somberly, “but I have been branded a traitor and stripped of my titles.”

somberly: 忧郁地 brand: 打标记 traitor: 叛徒 strip of: 剥夺 title: 头衔

“我不是很清楚该怎么对你讲这事，我的爱，”他忧郁地开口道，“但是我已经被标上了叛徒的名号，还被剥夺了我的头衔。”

Her eyes widened in shock. He wasn’t joking, she realized. In fact, as she looked at him more closely, she marveled at how defeated and deflated he seemed.

widen: 张大 shock: 震惊 joke: 开玩笑 realize: 意识到 in fact: 事实上 closely: 贴近地 marvel at: 惊讶于 defeat: 挫败 deflate: 泄气

她的眼睛震惊地张大了。他没开玩笑，她意识到。事实上，当她贴近去看他时，她惊讶于他看起来如此的挫败和泄气。

In all the years she had known him, he had never looked this way. It frightened her immensely. She shook her head, unable to grasp the enormity of the situation.

frighten: 使惊恐 immensely: 非常地 shake head: 摇头 grasp: 抓住 enormity: 极大，深刻 situation: 处境

凭她这么多年来一直对他的了解，他从来没显出过这副样子。这让她非常惊恐。她摇着她的头，无法领会这处境的深刻意味。

“How could this happen, Tirion? What have you done?” she asked in a strangled voice.

happen: 发生 strangle: 窒息 voice: 声音

“怎么会这样呢，提里奥？你做了什么？”她用哽住的声音问道。

He closed his eyes and held his breath for a moment, attempting to calm the furious pounding of his heart. ‘Do you remember the secret that I kept from you?” he asked.

hold one’s breath: 屏住呼吸 for a moment: 一会儿 attempt to: 试图 calm: 使镇定 furious: 猛烈的 pounding: 重击声 remember: 记得 secret: 秘密 keep from: 隐瞒

他一时间闭上眼，屏住呼吸，试图静下他的心脏猛烈的心跳。“你记得我原先没有告诉你的那个秘密吗？”他问。

She nodded as her brow creased in anxiety. “The orc I fought with saved my life, Karandra. If not for him, I would have been crushed under a collapsing tower.

nod: 点头 brow: 眉毛 crease: 起褶皱 anxiety: 焦急 fight with: 打架 crush: 压碎 collapse: 崩塌 tower: 塔

她点点头，同时她的眉毛焦虑地皱起。“那个和我打架的兽人救了我的命，卡兰达拉。如果不是因为他，我就已经在一座崩塌的塔下被压碎了。

To repay him for saving me, I vowed, on my honor, to keep his existence secret.”

repay: 报答 vow: 发誓 honor: 荣誉 existence: 存在 secret: 秘密

为了报答他救助我，我发誓，以我的荣誉，为他的存在保密。”

Karandra covered her face. She shook her head as if she didn’t want to hear any more, but Tirion continued anyway.

cover: 盖住 as if: 好像 continue: 继续 anyway: 无论如何

卡兰达拉捂起她的脸。她摇着头好像她不想再听了，但是提里奥还是继续着。

“I was forced to hunt the orc down under direct orders. But when it came time to capture him, my conscience overtook me.

force: 强迫 hunt down: 捕获 direct: 直接的 order: 命令 capture: 抓捕 conscience:良心 overtake: 压倒

“我被迫依从直接命令猎杀那兽人。但是到了抓捕他的时候，我的良心压倒了我。

To uphold my honor, I fought to free it. I was arrested on the spot and taken to Stratholme for trial,” he finished.

uphold: 维护 honor: 荣誉 free: 释放 arrest: 逮捕 on the spot: 当场 trial: 审判 finish:结束

为了维护我的荣誉，我打斗起来要释放它。我当场被被捕，带到了斯坦索姆进行审判，”他说完了。

They sat there in silence for many long moments. Karandra sniffed and wiped tears from her eyes. “I can’t even begin to imagine what you were thinking,” she said breathlessly.

silence: 沉默 sniff: 抽鼻子 wipe: 擦拭 imagine: 想象 breathlessly: 气喘吁吁地

他们静静地在那里坐了好一阵。卡兰达拉抽泣着，从她的眼里抹着眼泪。“我甚至不能开始想象你有那样的想法，”她气喘地说着。

“The orc is a beast, Tirion! It has no concept of honor! You gambled all our lives on a stupid, silly whim!” she spat, careful to keep her voice down.

beast: 畜生 concept: 概念 honor: 荣誉 gamble: 赌博 stupid: 笨的 silly: 愚蠢的 whim: 怪念头 spit: 咒骂 careful: 小心的

“那兽人是个畜生，提里奥！它没有荣誉的概念！你凭着愚蠢糊涂的任性，赌上了我们全家的性命！”她唾弃道，小心地保持低声。

She didn’t want to wake Taelan and let him see his father in such a state. Tirion simply sat with his head bowed.

wake: 使…醒 state: 状态 simply: 只是 bow: 低下

她不想弄醒泰兰让他看着他父亲这种状态。提里奥只是头低着坐在那。

For some strange reason, seeing him in such a weakened state only made her more anxious.

strange: 奇怪的 reason: 原因 weakened: 虚弱的 anxious: 焦虑的

出于某种怪原因，看着他如此虚弱的样子只会让她更焦虑。

“So what happens to us now, Tirion? Did you even consider that while you were playing the martyr?” she said softly, disappointment rampant in her voice.

consider: 考虑 martyr: 殉难者 softly: 轻轻地 disappointment: 失望 rampant: 猖狂的

“那现在我们会怎么样，提里奥？当你对牺牲下赌注的时候，你有考虑过这些吗？”她轻轻地说着，声音中带着无法控制的失落。

He stood up and walked over to the window. Night had settled heavily over the fields beyond the keep.

stand up: 站起 walk over to: 走到 window: 窗户 settle: 落下，安定 field: 田野 beyond: 在…另一边 keep: 城堡

他站起走到窗户旁。夜浓密地下沉着盖住了城堡外的田野。

The rain continued to pour, as if nature was attempting to rid itself of some foulness in the world.

continue: 继续 pour: 倾泻 nature: 自然 attempt to: 试图 rid: 摆脱 foulness: 卑鄙

雨仍旧瓢泼，好似自然正试图摆脱它自己在这世上的肮脏。

“I have been exiled, Karandra. I am to be escorted to the border at first light,” he said gravely. She blinked in shock.

exile : 放逐 escort: 护送 border: 边界 gravely: 严肃地 blink: 眨眼 shock: 震惊

“我已经被放逐了，卡兰达拉。天一亮我将被护送到边界，”他沉重地说。她震惊地眨了下眼。

“Exiled?” she whispered. “Light-damn you, Tirion! I told you your precious honor would be the end of us!”

exile: 放逐 whisper: 低语 damn: 诅咒 precious: 珍贵的 honor: 荣誉

“放逐？”她低声说。“你真该死，提里奥！我告诉过你你那珍贵的荣誉会终结我们！”

He turned to face her. “Without honor, woman, everything we have is meaningless!” he said, motioning around at their lavish surroundings.

without: 没有 honor: 荣誉 everything: 一切 meaningless: 没有意义的 motion: 移动 lavish: 丰富的 surroundings: 环境

他转身面向她。“没有荣誉，女人，我们有的一切都没有意义！”他说时，环顾着他们丰富的家什。

She waved her arm dismissively.

wave: 挥动 dismissively: 轻视地

她不屑一顾地挥着她的胳膊。

“Will your honor keep us fed and keep our son decently clothed? How can you maintain this senseless obsession in the face of what’s happened?

honor: 荣誉 feed: 喂 decently: 体面地 clothe: 穿衣 maintain: 保持 senseless: 愚蠢的 obsession: 痴迷 face: 面对 happen: 发生

“你的荣誉能让我们吃饱饭，能让我们的儿子有体面的衣装吗？你怎么在面对出事的时候，还能抱有这种愚蠢的思想？

What happened to the responsible man I married?” she asked.

responsible: 负责任的 marry: 结婚

我嫁的这个值得信赖的男人是怎么了？”她问。

He gritted his teeth and turned to face her. “I have always been this way, Karandra!

grit one’s teeth: 咬紧牙关 face: 面对 always: 总是

他咬紧上下牙，转身面向她。“我一直就是这样，卡兰达拉！

Don’t talk to me as if it’s any surprise! You knew that marrying a Paladin would demand certain sacrifices.”

as if: 好像 surprise: 意外 marry: 嫁 demand: 要求 certain: 特定的 sacrifice: 牺牲

别告诉我这好像有多意外似的！你明白嫁给一个圣骑士就要求特定的牺牲。”

“And I’ve made plenty of them. Willingly! I held my tongue every time you rode off to battle. I sat here, alone, for countless hours—waiting to hear if you were alive or dead.

plenty: 相当多的 willingly: 心甘情愿地 tongue: 舌头 ride off: 骑马离开 battle: 打仗 alone: 独自一人 countless: 数不尽的 wait: 等待 alive: 活着

“可我已经作出了很多牺牲。心甘情愿！每次你骑出去打仗，我都管住我的嘴。我坐在这，一个人，渡过数不尽的小时－等着听你活着还是死了的消息。

Do you have any idea of what that was like for me? I never complained once all those times that you left us for your bureaucratic duties.

complain: 抱怨 bureaucratic: 官僚的 duty: 职责

你有想过我是什么样子的吗？我从不抱怨那些日子你为了官僚政治的职责而离开我们。我明白你有工作要做。

I knew you had a job to do. I knew people counted on you. But I counted on you, too, damn it! I kept it all inside so that you could ‘do your duty’ with honor.

count on: 指望 damn: 诅咒 inside: 在心里 duty: 职责 honor: 荣誉

我明白人们指望你。但是我也指望你，见鬼！我把话窝在心里，好让你能带着荣誉‘尽你的职责’。I know all about sacrifices, Tirion. But this time the price is too high.”

sacrifice: 牺牲 price: 代价 high: 高的

我完全懂得牺牲，提里奥。但是这次的代价太高了。”

“What do you mean by that?” he asked, although he already knew the answer. She held him in her fiery stare.

although: 尽管 already: 已经 answer: 答案 fiery: 炽热的 stare: 凝视

“你这话什么意思？”他问，尽管他已经知道答案了。她抓着他，用燃烧的目光盯着。

“I love you, Tirion. Please believe that. But I won’t be coming with you . . . and neither will Taelan,” she said softly. Karandra turned away, unable to look him in the eye.

believe: 相信 neither: 两者都不 softly: 轻轻地 turn away: 转向一边 unable: 不能

“我爱你，提里奥。请相信我的话。但我不能和你一起去……还有泰兰也不能，”她轻轻地说。卡兰达拉转向一边，无法用眼睛对视他。

“I will not have our son grow up as an outcast or be the subject of ridicule for the rest of his life. He doesn’t deserve that, Tirion, and neither do I,” she said.

grow up: 长大 outcast: 被驱逐的人 subject: 对象 ridicule: 愚弄 deserve: 该得

“我不会让我们的儿子作为一个被抛弃的人长大，或者在他以后的人生中一直成为被人揶揄奚落的对象。那不是他该得到的，提里奥，也不是我该得的，”她说。

Tirion felt as if his life no longer had any meaning. Losing the Light was devastating enough; he didn’t know if he could bear losing her too. His head spun.

as if: 好像 no longer: 不再 meaning: 意义 lose: 失去 devastating: 毁灭性的 enough: 足够 bear: 承受 spin: 眩晕

提里奥感觉他的生命不再有任何意义了。失去圣光已经是够痛苦了；他不知自己还能不能承受失去她。他的头眩晕起来。

“I understand how you must feel, Karandra. Believe me, I do,” he barely managed to say. “Are you certain this is what you want?”

understand: 明白 feel: 感觉 believe: 相信 barely: 几乎不 manage to: 达成，设法 certain: 肯定

“我明白你会作何感受，卡兰达拉。相信我，我能，”他几乎不能开口了。“你肯定这是你想要的么？”

“You’ve ruined your life. I will not simply hold on while you plummet to the bottom and ruin ours as well!” she said, almost frantically.

ruin: 毁坏 simply: 只是 hold on: 等一等 plummet: 垂直落下 bottom: 底部 as well: 也 almost: 几乎 frantically: 狂暴地

“你毁了我的生活。我不会在你都直落到底的时候还干等着，也不会让你毁了我们的！”她几乎狂暴地说。

She hugged herself, trying to calm her raw nerves. “I hope your precious honor keeps you warm at night,” she said.

hug: 抱住 calm: 镇定 raw: 刺痛的 nerve: 神经 precious: 珍贵的 honor: 荣誉 warm: 暖和的 at night: 在夜里

她紧抱自己，试图稳定她刺痛的神经。“我希望你珍贵的荣誉能让你在夜里觉得暖和，”她说。

“Karandra, wait,” Tirion said as she left. She walked swiftly toward her room and slammed the door shut behind her. Tirion heard the bolt lock, and the faint sounds of her sobbing.

swiftly: 快速地 slam: 猛然关上 shut: 关上 bolt: 门闩 lock: 锁上 faint: 微弱的 sob: 呜咽

“卡兰达拉，等等，”提里奥说时，她离开了。她快速走到她的房间，摔上她身后的门。提里奥听见门闩锁上的声音，还有她呜咽的微弱的声音。

Unable to comfort her, Tirion leaned his head against the window’s cool pane of glass. Absently, he watched as the raindrops splattered against the pane.

comfort: 安慰 lean… against: 倚靠 pane: 窗玻璃 absently: 心不在焉地 watch: 注视 raindrop: 雨滴 splatter: 飞溅

无法安慰她，提里奥把他的头贴在窗户冰凉的玻璃上。心不在焉地，他注视着雨滴打在玻璃上飞溅起来。

He knew her well enough to know that she would not change her mind. He had lost nearly everything he had ever cared for.

change one’s mind: 改变主意 lose: 失去 nearly: 几乎 everything: 一切 care: 关心

他很了解她，明白她不会改变她的想法的。他几乎失去了过去他一直关心的每样东西。

The only thing he had left in the world was his honor. He wasn’t even sure of that anymore.

only: 唯一的 honor: 荣誉 sure: 肯定的

在这世上他唯一留下来的就是他的荣誉。他甚至对此深信不疑。

As if in a daze, Tirion walked into his reading room and sat down at his large, polished oak desk. He lit a few candles and gathered up a piece of parchment, ink and a new quill.

as if: 好像 daze: 眩晕 walk into: 走进 reading room: 书房 sit down: 坐下 polished: 光亮的 oak: 橡木 candle: 蜡烛 gather up: 收集 a piece of: 一张 parchment: 羊皮纸 ink: 墨水 quill: 鹅毛笔

好像在恍惚中，提里奥走进他的书房，坐在他那又大又光亮的橡木写字台前。他点燃了几根蜡烛，找来一张羊皮纸，墨水，还有一根新的羽毛笔。

Without really knowing exactly what he wanted to say, he started scribbling down his thoughts on the parchment. His hand shook as he wrote, smearing the ink in spots.

without: 没有 really: 真正地 know: 知道 exactly: 确切地 want: 想要 scribble down:草草写下 thought: 想法 parchment: 羊皮纸 shake: 发抖 smear: 涂抹 spot: 污点

也具体不知道自己真心想说什么，他开始在羊皮纸上草草写下他的想法。他写时手抖着，把墨水涂抹出好多污迹。

He emptied his heart out onto the parchment, expressing everything he felt, explaining everything he had done. He sat at the desk and wrote late into the night.

empty: 掏空 parchment: 羊皮纸 express: 表达 everything: 一切 explain: 解释 everything: 一切

他把他的心里话全掏出来，写在羊皮纸上，表达出他感觉到的一切，解释出他所做的一切。他坐在写字台前，写到夜里很晚。

Morning was only an hour off when Tirion entered Taelan’s darkened room. Karandra had cried herself to sleep hours before, so Tirion knew he would be undisturbed.

morning: 早晨 enter: 进入 darkened: 昏暗的 undisturbed: 不被打扰的

还有一个小时就到早晨了，此时提里奥进了泰兰昏暗的房间。卡兰达拉自己一直哭，几小时前就睡了，所以提里奥明白没人会打扰他。

He walked over to where his son lay sleeping peacefully. Snuggled in his blankets, the boy breathed steadily.

walk over to: 走到 peacefully: 安然地 snuggle: 偎依 blanket: 毛毯 breathe: 呼吸 steadily: 平稳地

他走到他儿子躺的地方，孩子安然睡着。在他的毛毯里舒服地蜷缩，男孩平稳地呼吸着。

Tirion watched him sleep for a while, awed by the child’s innocence and purity.

watch: 注视 for a while: 一会儿 awe: 敬畏 innocence: 天真 purity: 纯洁

提里奥注视了一阵他睡觉的样子，敬畏于孩子的天真与纯洁。

He knew his son deserved better than a life of forced exile. He deserved all of the good things life had to offer.

deserve: 该得 force: 被迫 exile: 流放 offer: 提供

他明白他儿子该得到的不是一生被迫流放。他该得到的是生活所能提供的一切美好事物。

With a shaky hand, Tirion reached into his coat pocket and retrieved the rolled parchment he had written.

shaky: 发抖的 reach into: 伸进 pocket: 口袋 retrieve: 取回 rolled: 卷的 parchment: 羊皮纸

用一只发抖的手，提里奥伸进他的大衣口袋，取出卷好的他写的那张羊皮纸。

Tears filled his eyes as he carefully placed the note under his son’s pillow.

tear: 眼泪 carefully: 小心地 note: 笔记 pillow: 枕头

当他小心地把信放到他儿子的枕头底下的时候，眼泪充满了他的眼睛。

Perhaps someday the boy might understand what I’ve done, he hoped. Perhaps somehow he’ll look back on me and be proud.

perhaps: 也许 someday: 有一天 understand: 明白 somehow: 无论如何 look back on: 回忆 proud: 骄傲的

也许有一天，孩子会明白我所做的，他希望着。也许以某种方式，他会回忆起我，并且感到骄傲。

Tirion patted the boy’s head and kissed him on the cheek.

pat: 轻拍 cheek: 脸颊

提里奥轻拍着孩子的头，在他的脸颊上吻着。

“Good-bye, my son,” he said, fighting back his tears. “Be good.”

fight back: 强忍住

“再见了，我的儿子，”他说，努力忍住他的眼泪。“做个好人。”

With that, he quietly left and closed the door behind him.

quietly: 安静地 behind: 在…后面

说着，他安静地离开，关上了身后的门。

Dawn had broken over the tranquil fields of Hearthglen. The oppressive storm clouds had blown away and the sky was bright and crystal clear.

dawn: 破晓 tranquil: 安静的 field: 田野 hearthglen: 壁炉堡 oppressive: 压抑的 storm: 风暴 blow away: 吹走 bright: 明亮的 crystal: 水晶的

破晓降临到壁炉堡安静的田野上。压抑的暴雨云已经吹走了，天空明亮且清透如水晶。

In a few hours, the old orc Eitrigg would be hanged in Stratholme. Tirion had decided that he would not let that happen. Whatever else transpired, Eitrigg would not die.

orc: 兽人 hang: 绞死 decide: 决定 happen: 发生 whatever: 无论什么 transpire: 发生

几小时内，老兽人伊崔格将被在斯坦索姆执行绞刑。提里奥已经决定他不会让这事发生。无论发生其他什么事情，伊崔格不能死。

He had little trouble bypassing the keep’s lax guardsmen and reaching the stables.

trouble: 麻烦 bypass: 绕开 keep: 城堡 lax: 松懈的 guardsman: 卫兵 stable: 马厩

他遇到点小困难绕过城堡散漫的卫兵，到达马厩。

As quietly as he could, he saddled Mirador and prepared his meager supplies for the journey to Stratholme.

quietly: 安静地 saddle: 装以马鞍 prepare: 准备 meager: 贫乏的 supply: 补给 journey: 行程

他尽可能快地，为米兰达装上马鞍，为了去斯坦索姆的行程，准备着他贫乏的补给品。

He placed his foot in the stirrup and hauled himself up onto his horse.

place: 放 stirrup: 马镫 haul: 拖

他把脚放在马镫上，把自己向马上拉起。

“This is the second time I’ve caught you trying to sneak off, Tirion,” Arden said, standing in the entranceway. Tirion’s heart froze.

catch: 抓住 try to: 试图 sneak off: 溜走 entranceway: 入口 freeze: 冻结

“这是第二次，我抓到你试图偷偷溜走，提里奥，”阿尔顿说着，站在入口处。提里奥的心凝固住了。

He looked around and saw that there were no guards with the captain. In fact, there was no escort party to be seen anywhere.

look around: 环顾四周 guard: 守卫 captain: 队长 in fact: 事实上 escort: 护卫 anywhere: 任何地方

他寻视周围，发现没有一个守卫和队长一起。事实上，哪里都看不见护卫队。

“I figured you’d try something like this,” the captain said.

figure: 料想 captain: 队长

“我料到你会尝试这样的事，”队长说道。

Tirion gripped his reins tightly and cleared his throat. “Are you here to stop me, Arden?” he asked tightly.

grip: 紧握 rein: 缰绳 tightly: 紧紧地 clear throat: 清喉咙 tightly: 紧紧地

提里奥紧紧握着他的缰绳，清了下喉咙。“你是到这来阻止我的吗，阿尔顿？”他紧紧地问。

The captain walked over and tightened the straps of Mirador’s saddlebags. “Even if I had a mind to, I doubt that I could,” Arden replied honestly.

captain: 队长 walk over: 走到 tighten: 勒紧 strap: 皮带 saddlebag: 鞍囊 even if: 即使 doubt: 怀疑 reply: 回答 honestly: 诚实地

队长走上前，系紧了米兰达的鞍囊的皮带。“就算我想，我怀疑我有那个本事，”阿尔顿实在地回答道。

“I sat up all night thinking about what you said at the trial. I think perhaps I understand how you felt.

sit up: 坐直 all night: 一整晚 trial: 审判 perhaps: 也许 understand: 明白

“我一整夜都在坐着，思考着审判时你说的话。我想也许我明白了你所感受到的。

You were only doing what you thought was right. You always have. For that, I cannot condemn you.”

condemn: 谴责

你一直在做你认为对的事情。你过去一向如此。所以我不能谴责你。”

Tirion nodded and leaned down. He placed his hand on Arden’s shoulder.

nod: 点头 lean down: 下倾 shoulder: 肩膀

提里奥点着头，倾下身子。他把他的手放在阿尔顿的肩膀上。

“I need to ask you a favor, old friend. It is the most important thing I’ve ever asked of you,” he said breathlessly.

favor: 帮忙 important: 重要的 breathlessly: 屏息地

“我求你帮个忙，老朋友。这是我所有求于你的事情中最重要的，”他屏息着说。

Arden looked up at him gravely. “Whatever is in my power to do, I will do,” the captain said. “Watch over them for me, Arden. Keep my boy safe,” Tirion said.

look up at: 抬头看 gravely: 严肃地 whatever: 无论什么 power: 力量 captain: 队长 watch over: 照管 safe: 安全的

阿尔顿严肃地抬着头看着。“无论是什么我力所能及的事情, 我都会帮忙，”队长说。“为我照管好她们，阿尔顿。保证我的儿子安全，”提里奥说。

Arden reached up and took hold of his friend’s hand. “I will,” was all he could say.

reach up: 抬起 take hold of: 抓住

阿尔顿抬起胳膊，抓住他朋友的手。“我会的，”这是他所有能说的话。

Satisfied, Tirion nodded to Arden and looked out toward the distant tree line. He dug his spurs into Mirador’s sides and thundered out of the stables.