TYRION

提利昂

   The north went on forever.

北境漫漫，一望无涯。

   Tyrion Lannister knew the maps as well asanyone, but a fortnight on the wild track that passed for the kingsroad up herehad brought home the lesson that the map was one thing and the land quiteanother.

提利昂·兰尼斯特虽然熟读地图，但经过两周以来的一径北行，他深切体会到地图上说的是一回事，实际上却另有蹊跷。

   They had left Winterfell on the same day asthe king, amidst all the commotion of the royal departure, riding out to thesound of men shouting and horses snorting, to the rattle of wagons and thegroaning of the queen’s huge wheelhouse, as a light snow flurried about them.The kingsroad was just beyond the sprawl of castle and town. There the bannersand the wagons and the columns of knights and freeriders turned south, takingthe tumult with them, while Tyrion turned north with Benjen Stark and hisnephew.

他们和国王的队伍于同一天离开临冬城，冒着细雪，穿过那一片人声马嘶、马车嘎吱和王后轮宫的呻吟。国王大道紧邻着主堡和城下市镇。国王的旗帜与车队，骑士和自由骑手就在该处转向南行，提利昂则与班扬·史塔克和琼恩叔侄二人往北走。

   It had grown colder after that, and far morequiet.

在那之后，天气越趋凄冷，四周更显沉寂。

   West of the road were flint hills, grey andrugged, with tall watchtowers on their stony summits. To the east the land waslower, the ground flattening to a rolling plain that stretched away as far asthe eye could see. Stone bridges spanned swift, narrow rivers, while smallfarms spread in rings around holdfasts walled in wood and stone. The road waswell trafficked, and at night for their comfort there were rude inns to be found.

国王大道逐渐变成一条比森林小路大不了多少的小径。道路西边是崎岖的灰岩丘陵，矮丘顶高耸着一座座守望台。东边则地势低缓，平坦旷野无限伸展，直至极目尽头。石桥跨越汹涌的狭窄激流，农场围绕石墙木梁的聚落。路上来往颇为频繁，日落后极易找到歇脚旅店。

   Three days ride from Winterfell, however,the farmland gave way to dense wood, and the kingsroad grew lonely. The flinthills rose higher and wilder with each passing mile, until by the fifth daythey had turned into mountains, cold blue-grey giants with jagged promontoriesand snow on their shoulders. When the wind blew from the north, long plumes ofice crystals flew from the high peaks like banners.

然而好景不长，离开临冬城三日之后，农田退去，只见茂密深林，国王大道也越来越人迹罕至。丘陵则日益陡峭，到了第五天，已经成了山脉，宛如肩负陈雪和陡峭岩峰的灰蓝巨人。当北风吹起，长长的冰针像旗帜一般从高耸的峰峦间飞溅而下。

   With the mountains a wall to the west, theroad veered north by northeast through the wood, a forest of oak and evergreen andblack brier that seemed older and darker than any Tyrion had ever seen. “Thewolfswood,” Benjen Stark called it, and indeed their nights came alive with thehowls of distant packs, and some not so distant. Jon Snow’s albino direwolfpricked up his ears at the nightly howling, but never raised his own voice inreply. There was something very unsettling about that animal, Tyrion thought.

山在西方，路往东北，蜿蜒穿过树林。班扬·史塔克称这座满是橡树、常青树和黑荆棘，看起来比提利昂所见过任何林子都要古老的森林为“狼林”，每到夜晚，森林里也确实传来远方狼群此起彼落的嚎叫，有时离他们还不甚远。雪诺的白子冰原狼听到便会竖起耳朵，却从不应和。提利昂总觉得那只东西有种令人极端不安的感觉。

   There were eight in the party by then, notcounting the wolf. Tyrion traveled with two of his own men, as befit aLannister. Benjen Stark had only his bastard nephew and some fresh mounts forthe Night’s Watch, but at the edge of the wolfswood they stayed a night behindthe wooden walls of a forest holdfast, and there joined up with another of theblack brothers, one Yoren. Yoren was stooped and sinister, his features hiddenbehind a beard as black as his clothing, but he seemed as tough as an old rootand as hard as stone. With him were a pair of ragged peasant boys from theFingers. “Rapers,” Yoren said with a cold look at his charges. Tyrionunderstood. Life on the Wall was said to be hard, but no doubt it waspreferable to castration.

扣除小狼不算，他们一行八人。首先提利昂依照兰尼斯特家的排场，带了两个随从。班扬·史塔克则只带着他的私生子侄儿，还有守夜人部队的一些牲口。但当他们在狼林边缘一栋木造庄园过夜时，又有一位叫尤伦的黑衣弟兄加入他们。这个尤伦驼着背，模样颇为阴狠，五官都躲在他那跟制服一般黑的胡子后面，但不难看出他是条汉子。他带了两个来自五指半岛，衣着破烂的农家子弟。“强奸犯。”尤伦冷冷地看着他们说。提利昂顿时领悟，长城上的日子虽然艰苦，但总比阉刑好得多。

   Five men, three boys, a direwolf, twentyhorses, and a cage of ravens given over to Benjen Stark by Maester Luwin. Nodoubt they made a curious fellowship for the kingsroad, or any road.

五个男人，三个孩子，一只冰原狼，二十匹马，还有一笼鲁温学士托班扬·史塔克捎带的大乌鸦，这样的一支队伍，想必是幅相当怪异的景象。

   Tyrion noticed Jon Snow watching Yoren andhis sullen companions, with an odd cast to his face that looked uncomfortablylike dismay. Yoren had a twisted shoulder and a sour smell, his hair and beardwere matted and greasy and full of lice, his clothing old, patched, and seldomwashed. His two young recruits smelled even worse, and seemed as stupid as theywere cruel.

提利昂注意到琼恩·雪诺一路不住打量尤伦和他那两名阴郁伙伴，脸上挂着古怪的表情，似乎有些困恼。尤伦不仅驼背，而且浑身酸臭，须发油腻，虱蚤丛生又衣衫破烂，遍布补丁且甚少清洗。他的两名手下味道更难闻，人则既愚蠢又残忍。

   No doubt the boy had made the mistake ofthinking that the Night’s Watch was made up of men like his uncle. If so, Yorenand his companions were a rude awakening. Tyrion felt sorry for the boy. He hadchosen a hard life?.?.?.?or perhaps he should say that a hard life had beenchosen for him.

看来那孩子误以为守夜人军团里全是他叔叔这种人了。倘若他真这么想，那么尤伦一帮人对他可算是个错愕的觉醒。提利昂为那孩子难过，他选择的是一条艰难的道路……或者应该说，别人为他选择了这条艰难的道路。

   He had rather less sympathy for the uncle.Benjen Stark seemed to share his brother’s distaste for Lannisters, and he hadnot been pleased when Tyrion had told him of his intentions. “I warn you,Lannister, you’ll find no inns at the Wall,” he had said, looking down on him.

他对孩子的叔叔可没这般好感。班扬·史塔克似乎和他哥哥一样讨厌兰尼斯特家的人，先前当提利昂表示想要同行时，他的反应相当不悦：“兰尼斯特，我话说在前头，长城没旅馆可住的。”他高高在上地盯着他。

   “No doubt you’ll find some place to put me,”Tyrion had replied. “As you might have noticed, I’m small.”

“你总有办法安顿我罢，”提利昂答道，“你也看到了，我个子很小。”

   One did not say no to the queen’s brother,of course, so that had settled the matter, but Stark had not been happy. “Youwill not like the ride, I promise you that,” he’d said curtly, and since themoment they set out, he had done all he could to live up to that promise.

当然，没人敢对王后的弟弟说不，所以事情就算这么定了，但班扬依旧很不高兴。“我保证你不会喜欢这趟旅程。”他很不客气地回敬，而自队伍出发以来，他也果真尽其所能让此话成真。

   By the end of thefirst week, Tyrion’s thighs were raw from hard riding, his legs were crampingbadly, and he was chilled to the bone. He did not complain. He was damned if hewould give Benjen Stark that satisfaction.

   He took a small revenge in the matter of hisriding fur, a tattered bearskin, old and musty-smelling. Stark had offered itto him in an excess of Night’s Watch gallantry, no doubt expecting him tograciously decline. Tyrion had accepted with a smile. He had brought hiswarmest clothing with him when they rode out of Winterfell, and soon discoveredthat it was nowhere near warm enough. It was cold up here, and growing colder.The nights were well below freezing now, and when the wind blew it was like aknife cutting right through his warmest woolens. By now Stark was no doubtregretting his chivalrous impulse. Perhaps he had learned a lesson. TheLannisters never declined, graciously or otherwise. The Lannisters took whatwas offered.

提利昂倒是在御寒皮衣上扳回一城，原本史塔克故作殷勤地献上一件满溢腥羶，老旧破烂的熊皮，以表现守夜人的济弱扶贫，显然希望他会碍于礼数婉拒，但提利昂微笑着收下。离开临冬城的时候，他带上了所有最暖和的衣服，随即却发现根本不够。这里真是冷得吓人，而且气温还在不断下降。夜里的温度早已降至冰点以下，每当朔风吹起，便如尖刀般割进他最暖和的羊皮衣。想必史塔克此时正为自己一时兴起的骑士精神后悔吧。也许他会从中学到教训：兰尼斯特家人来者不拒，管他什么礼数，只要别人给，我就敢拿。

   Farms and holdfasts grew scarcer and smalleras they pressed northward, ever deeper into the darkness of the wolfswood,until finally there were no more roofs to shelter under, and they were thrownback on their own resources.

越往北行，愈加深入狼林的幽暗国度，农庄田舍便更见疏落，终至人迹绝响，骤然遗世独立。

   Tyrion was never much use in making a campor breaking one. Too small, too hobbled, too in-the-way. So while Stark andYoren and the other men erected rude shelters, tended the horses, and built afire, it became his custom to take his fur and a wineskin and go off by himselfto read.

无论扎营拔营，提利昂都帮不上忙。他个子太小，蹒跚跛行只会碍手碍脚。于是他便趁史塔克和尤伦等人搭建帐篷居所，照料马匹，生火取暖之际，裹紧皮衣，揣着酒袋，蹒跚到一边独自读书，这成了他的习惯。

   On the eighteenth night of their journey,the wine was a rare sweet amber from the Summer Isles that he had brought allthe way north from Casterly Rock, and the book a rumination on the history andproperties of dragons. With Lord Eddard Stark’s permission, Tyrion had borroweda few rare volumes from the Winterfell library and packed them for the ridenorth.

旅行的第十八天，他带着从凯岩城一路携来北方，盛夏群岛酿产的珍贵琥珀甜酒，以及相关龙族佚闻事迹的书——这几册珍贵的典籍乃是提利昂求得艾德·史塔克公爵允许，从临冬城的图书馆拿的——独自走开。

   He found a comfortable spot just beyond thenoise of the camp, beside a swift-running stream with waters clear and cold asice. A grotesquely ancient oak provided shelter from the biting wind. Tyrioncurled up in his fur with his back against the trunk, took a sip of the wine,and began to read about the properties of dragonbone. Dragonbone is blackbecause of its high iron content, the book told him. It is strong as steel, yetlighter and far more flexible, and of course utterly impervious to fire.Dragonbone bows are greatly prized by the Dothraki, and small wonder. An archerso armed can outrange any wooden bow.

他走到营地的喧嚣之外，激流奔涌、水冷如冰的溪边觅得一方宁静。一株形体怪诞的老橡树恰好为他遮挡寒风。提利昂背靠树干，扯紧皮毛，啜了一口酒后读起关于龙骨的叙述。龙骨含铁量高，故呈黑色，书上如是说，龙骨坚硬如铁，然材质极轻且有韧性，自然亦不怕火。无怪乎多斯拉克人视龙骨弓为稀世珍宝，配上龙骨弓，射手可以轻易超越木制弓箭的射程。

   Tyrion had a morbid fascination withdragons. When he had first come to King’s Landing for his sister’s wedding toRobert Baratheon, he had made it a point to seek out the dragon skulls that hadhung on the walls of Targaryen’s throne room. King Robert had replaced them withbanners and tapestries, but Tyrion had persisted until he found the skulls inthe dank cellar where they had been stored.

提利昂对龙有种病态的迷恋。当年他初次造访君临，参加姐姐和劳勃·拜拉席恩的婚礼时，就打定主意一定要瞧瞧那些悬挂在坦格利安王座厅墙上的龙头。虽然劳勃国王早已把龙头换成了旗帜和壁毡，提利昂仍不死心，最后总算在阴湿的地窖内找到了它们的收藏处所。

   He had expected to find them impressive,perhaps even frightening. He had not thought to find them beautiful. Yet theywere. As black as onyx, polished smooth, so the bone seemed to shimmer in thelight of his torch. They liked the fire, he sensed. He’d thrust the torch intothe mouth of one of the larger skulls and made the shadows leap and dance onthe wall behind him. The teeth were long, curving knives of black diamond. Theflame of the torch was nothing to them; they had bathed in the heat of fargreater fires. When he had moved away, Tyrion could have sworn that the beast’sempty eye sockets had watched him go.

他本以为龙头必定令人叹为观止，甚至叫人望而生畏，却怎么也想不到它们竟会是如此美丽的东西。它们的的确确美得让人目瞪口呆。黑如玛瑙，光滑洁亮，在他的火把映照下仿佛会闪闪发光。他察觉到它们喜欢火，因而特地把火把插进其中一个较大的龙嘴里，果真火光大盛，影子在他身后的墙上大肆舞跃。龙牙宛如一柄柄黑钻石制成的长弯刀，长年浸涤于炽热的烈焰里，火把微焰对它们来说根本算不了什么。当他抽身离去时，他发誓那头巨兽空洞的眼窝是目送着自己离开的。

   There were nineteen skulls. The oldest wasmore than three thousand years old; the youngest a mere century and a half. Themost recent were also the smallest; a matched pair no bigger than mastiff’sskulls, and oddly misshapen, all that remained of the last two hatchlings bornon Dragonstone. They were the last of the Targaryen dragons, perhaps the lastdragons anywhere, and they had not lived very long.

巨龙头骨一共十九个，最老的寿命已经超过三千年，最幼小的也有一个半世纪那么久。幼龙的头骨也是最小的，那两个畸形怪状，比猎犬的头骨大不了多少，它们是龙石岛上所孵化的最后两只龙，是坦格利安家族最后的两只，或许也是这世界上最后的两只，它们非常短命。

   From there the skulls ranged upward in sizeto the three great monsters of song and story, the dragons that Aegon Targaryenand his sisters had unleashed on the Seven Kingdoms of old. The singers hadgiven them the names of gods: Balerion, Meraxes, Vhaghar. Tyrion had stoodbetween their gaping jaws, wordless and awed. You could have ridden a horsedown Vhaghar’s gullet, although you would not have ridden it out again. Meraxeswas even bigger. And the greatest of them, Balerion, the Black Dread, couldhave swallowed an aurochs whole, or even one of the hairy mammoths said to roamthe cold wastes beyond the Port of Ibben.

其他的龙头则一个比一个大，最大的三头便是歌谣和传说里最恐怖的巨兽，即伊耿·坦格利安和他的妹妹们攻打古代七国时所骑乘的那三头龙。吟游诗人为他们都取了神的名字：贝勒里恩、米拉西斯和瓦格哈尔。提利昂站在他们的血盆大口间，震慑得说不出话来。瓦格哈尔的咽喉之大，大到你可以骑马进去，当然别想活着出来。米拉西斯体型更加惊人。而最硕大无朋，人称“黑死神”的贝勒里恩，则可一口吞下整只野牛，或是传说中漫游于伊班港以北冰冷荒原上的长毛象。

   Tyrion stood in that dank cellar for a longtime, staring at Balerion’s huge, empty-eyed skull until his torch burned low,trying to grasp the size of the living animal, to imagine how it must havelooked when it spread its great black wings and swept across the skies,breathing fire.

提利昂在阴湿地窖里伫立良久，盯着贝勒里恩空洞而巨大的眼窝，试着想像眼前这只巨兽生前的模样，想像它开展双翼，横扫天际，口吐烈焰的景象，直到火把燃尽。

   His own remote ancestor, King Loren of theRock, had tried to stand against the fire when he joined with King Mern of theReach to oppose the Targaryen conquest. That was close on three hundred yearsago, when the Seven Kingdoms were kingdoms, and not mere provinces of a greaterrealm. Between them, the Two Kings had six hundred banners flying, fivethousand mounted knights, and ten times as many freeriders and men-at-arms.Aegon Dragonlord had perhaps a fifth that number, the chroniclers said, andmost of those were conscripts from the ranks of the last king he had slain,their loyalties uncertain.

他的远祖凯岩王罗伦，曾与河湾王孟恩联军抵抗坦格利安的征服。那是约三百年前的事，当时七大王国真的是各自为政的王国，而非今日大一统国度下的属地。两军合计有六百诸侯，五千骑兵，以及五万以上的雇佣军和步兵。据史家记载，“龙王”伊耿的军力大概只有对手的五分之一，其中多半是从他之前击败的敌手军队中召募而来，忠诚堪忧。

   The hosts met on the broad plains of theReach, amidst golden fields of wheat ripe for harvest. When the Two Kingscharged, the Targaryen army shivered and shattered and began to run. For a fewmoments, the chroniclers wrote, the conquest was at an end?.?.?.?but only forthose few moments, before Aegon Targaryen and his sisters joined the battle.

两军在河湾沿岸的沃野平畴中相遇，在遍地结实累累、等待收获的金黄麦田上交战。联军发动冲锋，坦格利安军立时四散溃逃。短短几分钟内，史家又如此写道，连年的征服似乎就要划上休止符……但这只是伊耿·坦格利安和他两个妹妹投入战局之前的那几分钟。

   It was the only time that Vhaghar, Meraxes,and Balerion were all unleashed at once. The singers called it the Field ofFire.

这是历史上惟一一次瓦格哈尔、米拉西斯和贝勒里恩同时出击，后世的吟游诗人称之为“怒火燎原”。

   Near four thousand men had burned that day,among them King Mern of the Reach. King Loren had escaped, and lived longenough to surrender, pledge his fealty to the Targaryens, and beget a son, forwhich Tyrion was duly grateful.

那天共有将近四千名士兵被烧成灰烬，其中包括河湾王孟恩。罗伦王侥幸逃脱，没过多久便向坦格利安家族投降称臣，后来还产下一子，为此提利昂只有感激的份。

   “Why do you read so much?”

“你读那么多书干嘛？”

   Tyrion looked up at the sound of the voice.Jon Snow was standing a few feet away, regarding him curiously. He closed thebook on a finger and said, “Look at me and tell me what you see.”

提利昂闻言抬头，琼恩·雪诺正站在几步以外，好奇地端详他。他用一根手指夹住正读的书页：“看着我，然后告诉我你看到了什么？”

   The boy looked at him suspiciously. “Is thissome kind of trick? I see you. Tyrion Lannister.”

男孩狐疑地看着他说：“你耍什么把戏？我看到你啊，提利昂·兰尼斯特。”

   Tyrion sighed. “You are remarkably politefor a bastard, Snow. What you see is a dwarf. You are what, twelve?”

提利昂叹道：“雪诺啊，你是个私生子，却真是够客气。你看到的是个侏儒。你几岁了？十二？”

   “Fourteen,” the boy said.

“十四。”

   “Fourteen, and you’re taller than I willever be. My legs are short and twisted, and I walk with difficulty. I require aspecial saddle to keep from falling off my horse. A saddle of my own design,you may be interested to know. It was either that or ride a pony. My arms arestrong enough, but again, too short. I will never make a swordsman. Had I beenborn a peasant, they might have left me out to die, or sold me to some slaver’sgrotesquerie. Alas, I was born a Lannister of Casterly Rock, and thegrotesqueries are all the poorer. Things are expected of me. My father was theHand of the King for twenty years. My brother later killed that very same king,as it turns out, but life is full of these little ironies. My sister marriedthe new king and my repulsive nephew will be king after him. I must do my partfor the honor of my House, wouldn’t you agree? Yet how? Well, my legs may betoo small for my body, but my head is too large, although I prefer to think itis just large enough for my mind. I have a realistic grasp of my own strengthsand weaknesses. My mind is my weapon. My brother has his sword, King Robert hashis warhammer, and I have my mind?.?.?.?and a mind needs books as a sword needsa whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.” Tyrion tapped the leather cover of thebook. “That’s why I read so much, Jon Snow.”

“你才十四岁，我却一辈子长不到你现在这个高度。我这双脚又短又畸形，连走路都成问题，骑马还得配着特殊打造的马鞍，才不会摔下去。你有兴趣瞧瞧的话，这马鞍是我自己设计的。假如我不用它，就只能骑着孩子的小矮马。我的手臂还算强壮，但仍旧太短，所以永远也成不了好战士。如果我生在普通农家，早被扔在路边等死，不然就是卖进怪物杂耍团。唉，谁知我偏又生在凯岩城的兰尼斯特家，怪胎更不受欢迎，只因先前众人对我万般期待。你瞧，我爹干了二十年的御前首相，结果我老哥后来竟把国王给宰了，人生就是这样变幻无常。如今我老姐嫁给了新任国王，而我那脾气暴躁的外甥呢，有朝一日则会继任王位，只有我空担着家族的名誉，总得尽点心力，你说对罢？但是要怎么做呢？呵，我的腿太短，头却太大，总算这脑袋对我还算合适，凭着它我很清楚自己能干什么不能干什么，它就是我的武器。老哥有他的宝剑，劳勃国王有他的战锤，我则有我的脑袋瓜……不过人若要保持思路清晰锐利，就得多读书，就好像宝剑需要磨刀石一样。”提利昂轻敲书皮，“琼恩·雪诺，这就是为什么我读个不停啰。”

   The boy absorbed that all in silence. He hadthe Stark face if not the name: long, solemn, guarded, a face that gave nothingaway. Whoever his mother had been, she had left little of herself in her son.“What are you reading about?” he asked.

男孩静静地听完这番话。他虽然名分上没有史塔克这个姓，却有张地地道道史塔克家人的脸：脸长，严肃拘谨，喜怒不形于色。不论他母亲是谁，想必在他身上没留下多少自己的特征。“那你在读什么？”他问。

   “Dragons,” Tyrion told him.

“跟龙有关的东西。”提利昂告诉他。

   “What good is that? There are no moredragons,” the boy said with the easy certainty of youth.

“读这有什么用？世上已经没有龙了。”男孩语气里带着少年独有的确信。

   “So they say,” Tyrion replied. “Sad, isn’tit? When I was your age, used to dream of having a dragon of my own.”

“人们是这样说没错，”提利昂答道，“很可惜，不是吗？我在你这年纪的时候，还经常梦想哪天有自己的龙哪。”

   “You did?” the boy said suspiciously.Perhaps he thought Tyrion was making fun of him.

“真的吗？”男孩难以置信地说。或许他认为提利昂在寻他开心罢。

   “Oh, yes. Even a stunted, twisted, uglylittle boy can look down over the world when he’s seated on a dragon’s back.”Tyrion pushed the bearskin aside and climbed to his feet. “I used to startfires in the bowels of Casterly Rock and stare at the flames for hours,pretending they were dragonfire. Sometimes I’d imagine my father burning. Atother times, my sister.” Jon Snow was staring at him, a look equal parts horrorand fascination. Tyrion guffawed. “Don’t look at me that way, bastard. I knowyour secret. You’ve dreamt the same kind of dreams.”

“当然是真的了，只要能骑在龙背上，即便是发育不良，畸形扭曲的丑陋小男孩也可以睥睨全世界。”提利昂推开熊皮，站起身来。“以前我常躲在凯岩城深处的地道，燃起火堆，望着熊熊烈焰，一望就是好几个钟头，一边幻想那是魔龙吐出的烈火。有时候我会幻想我老爸被火烧死，有时候则是我老姐。”琼恩·雪诺一脸既害怕又惊奇的表情，提利昂看了哈哈大笑，“小杂种，别用那种眼光看我，我知道你心里在想什么，你也有过这样的梦吧。”

   “No,” Jon Snow said, horrified. “Iwouldn’t?.?.?.?”

“我才没有，”琼恩·雪诺害怕地说，“我不会……。”

   “No? Never?” Tyrion raised an eyebrow.“Well, no doubt the Starks have been terribly good to you. I’m certain Lady Starktreats you as if you were one of her own. And your brother Robb, he’s alwaysbeen kind, and why not? He gets Winterfell and you get the Wall. And yourfather?.?.?.?he must have good reasons for packing you off to the Night’sWatch?.?.?.?”

“没有？从来没有？”提利昂抬起一边眉毛，“那想必史塔克一家人待你不薄？想必夫人对你也视如己出啰？还有你那异母兄弟罗柏，向来都跟你很亲是罢？为什么不呢？他得到临冬城，你得到的却是绝境长城。至于你父亲大人嘛……他一定也有正当理由，才会把你送去当守夜人……。”

   “Stop it,” Jon Snow said, his face dark withanger. “The Night’s Watch is a noble calling!”

“不要再说了，”琼恩·雪诺脸色阴沉地怒道，“加入守夜人是神圣的使命！”

   Tyrion laughed. “You’re too smart to believethat. The Night’s Watch is a midden heap for all the misfits of the realm. I’veseen you looking at Yoren and his boys. Those are your new brothers, Jon Snow,how do you like them? Sullen peasants, debtors, poachers, rapers, thieves, andbastards like you all wind up on the Wall, watching for grumkins and snarks andall the other monsters your wet nurse warned you about. The good part is thereare no grumkins or snarks, so it’s scarcely dangerous work. The bad part is youfreeze your balls off, but since you’re not allowed to breed anyway, I don’tsuppose that matters.”

提利昂笑笑。“聪明如你，怎会相信这种屁话？守夜人军团是个专门接收全国各地人渣废物的垃圾场，我瞧见了你看尤伦和他手下那两小子的神色，他们就是你的新弟兄，琼恩·雪诺，你可还喜欢？一脸死相的农奴、欠债鬼、盗猎者、强奸犯、小偷，还有像你这样的私生子通通都发配到长城上来，负责防范你奶妈小时候告诉你的各种古灵精怪。往好的方面想嘛，根本就没有什么古灵精怪；可是往坏处想呢，那地方冷得连命根子都要冻掉。不过既然原本就不准你生育后代，我看也没什么关系。”

   “Stop it!” the boy screamed. He took a stepforward, his hands coiling into fists, close to tears.

“不要说了！”男孩尖叫着前跨一步，双手握拳，眼看就要掉下泪来。

   Suddenly, absurdly, Tyrion felt guilty. Hetook a step forward, intending to give the boy a reassuring pat on the shoulderor mutter some word of apology.

提利昂突然很荒谬地有股罪恶感，他也朝前走了一步，想拍拍男孩肩膀安慰他，或是道声歉。

   He never saw the wolf, where it was or howit came at him. One moment he was walking toward Snow and the next he was flaton his back on the hard rocky ground, the book spinning away from him as hefell, the breath going out of him at the sudden impact, his mouth full of dirtand blood and rotting leaves. As he tried to get up, his back spasmedpainfully. He must have wrenched it in the fall. He ground his teeth infrustration, grabbed a root, and pulled himself back to a sitting position.“Help me,” he said to the boy, reaching up a hand.

那只狼究竟是从什么地方出现的，他自始至终没有瞧见。前一刻他正朝雪诺走去，下一刻已被迎面扑倒在坚石地上，手中的书飞出老远。他被撞得喘不过气来，满嘴都是泥土血腥和枯枝腐叶。等他挣扎着想起身，背部却又剧烈地痉挛，一定是摔倒的时候扭了。他气恼地咬紧牙根，勾着一节树根，勉强坐住。“帮帮我罢。”他朝男孩伸出手。

   And suddenly the wolf was between them. Hedid not growl. The damned thing never made a sound. He only looked at him withthose bright red eyes, and showed him his teeth, and that was more than enough.Tyrion sagged back to the ground with a grunt. “Don’t help me, then. I’ll sit right here until you

leave.”

突然，狼又出现在两人之间，它没有吼叫——这只该死的东西从不发出半点声音——只是用那双灿亮的红眼打量他，露出满口尖牙，这就够吓人的了。提利昂咕哝一声缩回地上。“不帮就算了，我就在这里，等你走了再说。”

   Jon Snow stroked Ghost’s thick white fur,smiling now. “Ask me nicely.”

琼恩·雪诺搓搓白灵厚重的白毛，却笑了。“求我，我就帮你。”

   Tyrion Lannister felt the anger coilinginside him, and crushed it out with a will. It was not the first time in hislife he had been humiliated, and it would not be the last. Perhaps he evendeserved this. “I should be very grateful for your kind assistance, Jon,” hesaid mildly.

提利昂·兰尼斯特只觉体内一股怒气逐渐酝酿，只好强自按捺。这不是他这辈子头一次遭人羞辱，肯定也不是最后一次，何况这次还是他自讨苦吃。“琼恩，如果你肯出手相助，我将非常感激。”他温和地说。

   “Down, Ghost,” the boy said. The direwolfsat on his haunches. Those red eyes never left Tyrion. Jon came around behindhim, slid his hands under his arms, and lifted him easily to his feet. Then hepicked up the book and handed it back.

“白灵，坐下。”男孩命令，冰原狼听罢蹲坐下来，那对红眼却始终不曾离开提利昂。琼恩绕到他身后，把手伸到他腋下，轻松地扶他起来，然后捡书递给他。

   “Why did he attack me?” Tyrion asked with asidelong glance at the direwolf. He wiped blood and dirt from his mouth withthe back of his hand.

“刚才它为什么攻击我？”提利昂问，他斜眼瞟了冰原狼一眼，用手背揩了揩嘴里的血污和泥巴。

   “Maybe he thought you were a grumkin.”

“说不定他以为你就是古灵精怪哟。”

   Tyrion glanced at him sharply. Then helaughed, a raw snort of amusement that came bursting out through his noseentirely without his permission. “Oh, gods,” he said, choking on his laughterand shaking his head, “I suppose I do rather look like a grumkin. What does hedo to snarks?”

提利昂瞪了他一眼，接着放声大笑，那是一股他全然没有预期的原始笑意。“噢，诸神在上，”他笑得差点岔了气，不住摇头，“我想我看起来确实蛮像的嘛！那要是他遇上真的古灵精怪会有何反应啊？”

   “You don’t want to know.” Jon picked up thewineskin and handed it to Tyrion.

“你不会想知道的。”琼恩拾起酒袋，交还提利昂。

   Tyrion pulled out the stopper, tilted hishead, and squeezed a long stream into his mouth. The wine was cool fire as ittrickled down his throat and warmed his belly. He held out the skin to JonSnow. “Want some?”

提利昂拉开塞子，侧着头喝了一大口，葡萄酒宛如一泓冷火，流过他的喉咙，温暖他的脾胃。他把皮囊传给琼恩·雪诺。“你来点？”

   The boy took the skin and tried a cautiousswallow. “It’s true, isn’t it?” he said when he was done. “What you said aboutthe Night’s Watch.”

男孩接过酒袋，谨慎地啜了一口。“刚才你说的那些关于守夜人的事，”喝完之后他问，“都是真的？”

   Tyrion nodded.

提利昂点点头。

   Jon Snow set his mouth in a grim line. “Ifthat’s what it is, that’s what it is.”

琼恩·雪诺神情肃穆地抿抿嘴。“那我就既来之则安之。”

   Tyrion grinned at him. “That’s good,bastard. Most men would rather deny a hard truth than face it.”

提利昂朝他嘿嘿一笑。“私生子，真有你的。大部分的人宁可否认事实，也不愿面对真相。”

   “Most men,” the boy said. “But not you.”

“那是大部分的人，”男孩道，“但不是你。”

   “No,” Tyrion admitted, “not me. I seldomeven dream of dragons anymore. There are no dragons.” He scooped up the fallenbearskin. “Come, we had better return to camp before your uncle calls thebanners.”

“你说得对，”提利昂同意，“不是我。现在我连龙都很少去想了，这世上没有龙了。”他捡起掉落在地的熊皮。“走，我们还是趁你叔叔没出来找人之前回营去罢。”

   The walk was short, but the ground was roughunderfoot and his legs were cramping badly by the time they got back. Jon Snowoffered a hand to help him over a thick tangle of roots, but Tyrion shook himoff. He would make his own way, as he had all his life. Still, the camp was awelcome sight. The shelters had been thrown up against the tumbledown wall of along-abandoned holdfast, a shield against the wind. The horses had been fed anda fire had been laid. Yoren sat on a stone, skinning a squirrel. The savorysmell of stew filled Tyrion’s nostrils. He dragged himself over to where hisman Morrec was tending the stewpot. Wordlessly, Morrec handed him the ladle.Tyrion tasted and handed it back. “More pepper,” he said.

回营的路虽然不长，但地面崎岖不平，等到赶回营区，他的双腿已经抽筋得厉害。琼恩·雪诺伸手准备帮他跨越一丛纠结繁密的树根，但提利昂却挥手拒绝了。他要自己走自己的路，一如他这一生。营地是一副令人欣喜的景象：人们围着一座早已废弃的庄舍倾颓的墙壁，搭起挡风的遮蔽，马儿都已喂饱，营火也生起来了，尤伦坐在一块石头上剥松鼠的皮。浓汤的香味溢满提利昂的鼻腔。他一跛一拐地拖着脚，走到正在搅拌热汤的仆人莫里斯身旁。莫里斯一言不发地把长柄杓递给他，提利昂尝了一口后交回去。“再多加点胡椒。”他说。

   Benjen Stark emerged from the shelter heshared with his nephew. “There you are. Jon, damn it, don’t go off like that byyourself. I thought the Others had gotten you.”

班扬·史塔克从他和侄子共用的帐篷里冒出来：“琼恩，你总算回来了。妈的，别一个人到处乱跑，我还以为你给异鬼抓走了。”

   “It was the grumkins,” Tyrion told him,laughing. Jon Snow smiled. Stark shot a baffled look at Yoren. The old mangrunted, shrugged, and went back to his bloody work.

“他是被古灵精怪抓走的。”提利昂笑着告诉他，琼恩·雪诺也微微一笑。史塔克困惑地朝尤伦望去，那老头只耸耸肩，咕哝了一声，便又低头专心剥皮。

   The squirrel gave some body to the stew, andthey ate it with black bread and hard cheese that night around their fire.Tyrion shared around his skin of wine until even Yoren grew mellow. One by onethe company drifted off to their shelters and to sleep, all but Jon Snow, whohad drawn the night’s first watch.

那只松鼠为肉汤添了点美味，当晚他们就围坐在营火边，配着黑面包和硬乳酪吃。提利昂让大家分享他的美酒，直喝到连尤伦都满脸通红。接着，大伙便一个个起身回帐篷去睡了，只剩下抽到头班守夜的琼恩·雪诺。

   Tyrion was the last to retire, as always. Ashe stepped into the shelter his men had built for him, he paused and lookedback at Jon Snow. The boy stood near the fire, his face still and hard, lookingdeep into the flames.

提利昂照例是最后去睡的人，当踏进手下为他搭建的营房时，他停下脚步，转头回望。只见男孩站在营火边，面色坚毅凝重，深深望进跳跃的熊熊火焰。

   Tyrion Lannister smiled sadly and went tobed.

提利昂·兰尼斯特哀伤地笑了笑，返身进入营帐就寝。