逃离崴里 Leaving Weh'le

作者： Michael McCarthy

“哎呀——嘿！博里伊！”我大叫出来。“下手有点重了吧，你不觉得吗？”

“Ah— Hey! Bo’lii!” I cry out. “Cut me a little deep, don’t you think?”

我趴在藤条编织的席垫上翘起头，跪在我身旁的瓦斯塔亚与我四目相对。我可以感觉到血滴正从我后背上淌下来。

I crane my head up and around from the wicker mat I’m lying prone on to stare right into the eyes of the vastaya kneeling over me. I can feel the blood sliding down my back.

“不如你稍微小心点？”我补了一句。

“How about you be a little more careful?” I add.

博里伊把他的骻罗和髍利从我肩膀上拿开，这是刺青师的专用工具，有点像锤子和凿子，只不过是用蛇骨制成的。有些人也会用其他动物的骨头或者金属，但蛇骨是中空的，所以可以精细地割线，正符合博里伊这样的大师对自己作品的要求。又有几滴血从髍利尖端滑落到我的后背。他微笑着用一页旧亚麻布拂干净。然后他停下双手耸了耸肩，似乎是在问，要不你别用我了？

Bo’lii pulls his qua’lo and mulee away from my shoulder, the tools of a tattoo artist, like a hammer and chisel, made from serpent bone. Some use other animals or metal, but the serpent bones are just hollow enough to give the ink the fine line that a master like Bo’lii demands in his work. A little more of my blood drips off the mulee and onto my back. He smiles, dabs it with a swatch of old linen and shakes his head. Then he holds up his hands and shrugs, as if to ask, You want me to stop?

他什么也没说。诺克萨斯士兵割了他的舌头。之后又过了很久，我才成为这里的常客，但我已经足够了解他，他一个眼神我就知道他想说什么。一点点不适就能换来他的作品，这点代价微不足道。

The words don’t come. Noxian soldiers took most of his tongue long before I began coming here, but I know him well enough to know what a look can say. His work is more than a fair trade for a little discomfort.

流血？我流点血无所谓。如果流的不是我的血，那就多多益善。

And the blood? I can take a little blood. A lot, if it’s not my own.

“稍微弄干净点吧。我们可能没多少时间了。”我告诉他。

“Just clean it up a little, okay? I don’t think we have much time,” I tell him.

博里伊开始用骻罗轻敲髍利，一边补充颜料。他有最上等的颜料，鲜艳的色彩来自莱肯野莓捣碎后的汁液和翁库沃悬崖南壁上的魔法花瓣。他是大师，我很荣幸能成为他的画布。

Bo’lii begins tapping the mulee with the qua’lo and adding the ink. He has the best inks, rich colors made from crushed Raikkon wild berries and the enchanted flower petals found only on the southern faces of the Vlonqo cliffs. He is a master, and I am honored to be his canvas.

我成为崴里的常客，是在我开始对慎置若罔闻以后不久。这么些年来，在均衡教派一直”谨小慎微”？不。慎错看了世界。错看了我。

I started coming to Weh’le not long after I stopped listening to Shen. All those years in the Kinkou Order “treading carefully”? No. Shen was wrong about that. About me.

克制从来都不是我的强项。

Restraint has never been my thing.

我转过头，趴回到藤席上，双手垫在颌下，两眼盯着博里伊客栈的入口。他的店很整洁，但空气里灌满了罪恶。客栈里住着各路飞贼、浪人，还有横下一条心的亡命之徒。人们来到博里伊的客栈是为了逃离崴里，逃离艾欧尼亚。因为混进来很难，而……逃出去更难。

I turn back around on the mat and rest my chin on top of my hands. Keeping my eyes trained on the door that leads into Bo’lii’s tavern. His place is clean, but the air hangs heavy with guilt. The tavern is home to a collection of thieves, rogues, and bad decisions. People come to Bo’lii’s to arrange a way out of Weh’le. Out of Ionia. Because getting into Weh’le is hard… but getting out is even harder.

崴里是一座幻影港口，一座隐秘的海岸村庄，由艾欧尼亚特有的神秘力量守护。和斐洛尔不同，她不欢迎异乡人，也不在任何一份地图上。若要崴里现出真容，就只能听任她自己的意愿。于是许多人都对显而易见的蠢行跃跃欲试。

Weh’le is a phantom port, a hidden coastal village, protected by the mystical properties of Ionia. Unlike Fae’lor, she doesn’t welcome outsiders, and you won’t find her on the maps. Should Weh’le appear at all, it is always on her own terms, daring people into doing very dumb things.

大多数人都从海上来，梦想得到财富、机遇，或者只是个新的开始，但他们的希望却会在一瞬间破碎。最开始，原本那条引诱着他们的海岸线会消失在钴蓝色的迷雾中，如同一道厚厚的墙，雾墙里还会不时迸发闪烁出奥法能量。然后海面会剧烈起伏，掀起铺天盖地的巨浪。待到幸存者们紧紧抓住残骸碎片之际，浓雾会退散片刻，让他们看到崴里摇曳的灯笼微光对他们残忍地道别，最后被海水拖进气绝湾的海底。

Most approach from the sea, dreaming of riches, discovery or maybe just a new start, only to have their hopes dashed in an instant. First, the shoreline that once called to them vanishes behind a dense wall of cobalt fog crackling with arcane power. The sea rises and falls violently before unleashing torrents of crushing waves. As the survivors cling to their splintered vessel, the fog pulls back for the briefest of moments, allowing them one look at the flickering lanterns of Weh’le cruelly saying goodbye just before the water pulls them down to the bottom of the Breathless Bay.

我管不了这些人。他们不是我的人。不关我的事。

I can’t do anything about those people. Not my people. Not my problem.

博里伊停下了手里的敲打。我来这里是为了找别人。

Bo’lii stops tapping. I’m here for someone else entirely.

我能感到我的布袋抵在大腿上。感觉比较安心，不过，我还是更希望它在触手可及的地方。这样我就可以凭本能飞出三把苦无插进三颗心脏。一瞬间就可以不假思索地夺走三条命。而它现在所在的地方，让我不得不先考虑一下。

I feel my satchel against my thigh. It puts me at ease, although I would rather have it on me. From there, I could fire three kunai into three hearts on instinct. Three kills without a thought. Where it is now, I’d have to think a little.

我抬起眼睛，恰好看到从正门进来的那个人。左右是三名护卫，全都穿着应战的装束。

I look up just in time to see the man come through the front door. He is flanked by three guards in their battle dress.

“这倒是省事了……我应该杀的是哪一个呢？”我戏谑道。

“Well, that makes it easy… I wonder which one I’m supposed to kill?” I mock.

博里伊笑了出来。没有舌头并不影响他笑。虽然听上去有点奇怪，但真的在笑。他又摇了摇头，又开始了他的老一套。他摆手势、点下巴和我说，这次去外面办事，等他们出去了再说。

Bo’lii laughs. He can still do that, even without a tongue. It sounds a little weird, but it’s real. He shakes his head again, and does that thing he always does. With a series of hand movements and head nods he tells me to try and do my business outside this time, after they leave his establishment.

“你知道我没法保证。”我一边说一边摸了摸布袋，然后转身面向客栈喧闹的中庭。

“You know I can’t promise that,” I say as I check my satchel, and turn towards the din of the tavern.

我在门口停留片刻，转身面对他。

I pause at the doorway and turn back to him.

“我尽量吧，”话毕，我扯起了面罩。我并不介意让他们看到脸，只是如果让他们看到我在嘲笑他们，那就太过分了。

“I’ll do what I can,” I say, before lifting the mask over my face. I don’t mind them seeing me, but if they saw me laughing at them, I think it would be just too much.

那个带着护卫的人是我的人——他是来自普玻的大知事。那地方离均衡教派不远。但他和许多人一样，将自己的人民出卖给侵略者，只为了得到黄金、远走崴里，再逃到海角天边。所以现在他关我的事。

The guy with the guards is my people—a high councilman from Puboe, a place not far from the Kinkou Order. But, like many, he sold out his people to the invaders for gold and safe passage to Weh’le, and beyond. So now he is my problem.

他的路已经到头了。的确，我应该挑在他客栈熟睡的时候动手，或者是他们抵达崴里之前宿营的时候，但那多没意思！我要他尝到咸腥的海风。我要他觉得自己可以松口气，然后再一命呜呼。但我也是想让其他人看到他为自己的罪行偿命，并让他们懂得没人能瞒天过海。

But this is as far as he will get. Sure, I could’ve taken him out in his sleep at the inn, or when they made camp along the road to Weh’le, but where’s the fun in that? I want him to taste the salt air. I want him to feel a sense of relief before the end comes. But I also want the others to see him pay for his crimes, and know that this will not stand.

敢做就要敢当。

Actions have consequences.

我悄无声息地接近。他颤抖着双手将一杯酒举到唇边。他的护卫看到我立刻站起来护住他。意识不错。

I approach without a sound. His hands are shaking as he raises a mug of ale to his lips. His guards stand in his defense when they notice me. I’m impressed.

“在这里还能看到懂礼貌的人，真是又意外又高兴，”我脸上的笑他们看不到。

“Nice to see manners around here for a change,” I say with a smile they cannot see.

“你有事吗，姑娘？”一个护卫问道，他的脸藏在一顶坑坑洼洼、蹭满尘土的铁桶头盔里。

“What’s your business, girl?” One of them asks through a plate of pitted and tarnished steel.

“他，”我用钩镰指了指。镰刃透出熔铸在钢铁中的魔法光泽。“我找他有要紧事。”

“Him,” I say pointing with my kama. It glistens with hues of the magic it was forged in. “He’s my business right now.”

护卫们抽出武器，但还没等他们向我迈出一步，他们就被笼罩在一团浓厚的烟雾中。苦无开始飞啸，命中目标的同时发出令人舒心的血肉开裂声噗嗤。

The guards draw their weapons, but even before they can step towards me, they disappear in a thick ring of blinding smoke. The kunai begin to fly, hitting their targets with a satisfying flesh and bone THUNK.

一。二。三。

One. Two. Three.

脚步声。

Footsteps.

我向声音的方向丢出两把苦无。金属碰撞声，然后是噗嗤——噗嗤被反弹到墙上的声音。

I send two more kunai in that direction. A clang of metal, followed by the THUCK-THUCK of them ricocheting into the walls.

更多脚步声。

More footsteps.

“哎，你该出点血了！”我一边大声喊，一边从后腰甩出一枚手里剑，同时翻身越过房间，随着手里剑的轨迹追了上去。

“Aw, you’re gonna bleed!” I call out, flinging a single shuriken from my hip, and flipping across the room, following in its wake.

我冲出烟幕，看到最后一个护卫四仰八叉地倒在门口。三根尖刺都深深埋进他的喉头——胸口还在微微起伏。我抓住他的领子把他提起来，只是确认一下。

I break through the smoke to see the last guard splayed out on the ground next to the door. The three prongs are lodged deep in his windpipe—I can see his chest rising and falling ever so slightly. I grab him by the collar, raise him up, just to be sure.

“差一点……”我悄悄说道。

“Almost…” I whisper.

就在那时，我听到身后传来一串血沫破裂音。我转身，透过渐渐退去的烟雾看到那位大知事倒在血泊中。他睁大了眼睛，来回扫视着客栈，想搞明白刚刚发生了什么。

At that moment, I hear a gurgling behind me. I turn to see the councilman through the receding smoke, bleeding out on the floor. His eyes are open, darting back and forth across the tavern, wondering what just happened.

现在的他是如此平和。

He looks so peaceful now.