黑玫瑰之刺 Thorns of the Black Rose

作者：L J Goulding

“我不明白，”古兰斯将军喃喃地说着，紧张兮兮地想要遮住灯笼发出的光。“这里什么都没有。是条死胡同。”

“I don’t understand,” General Granth mutters, nervously trying to smother the light from his lamp. “There’s nothing here. It’s a dead end.”

他站在那道门槛边，黑暗的石刻门框内侧，是更深邃的黑暗。他看不见面前敞开的门堂，也看不见周围的欧琛语铭文。他看不见脚下石砖上散落的骸骨碎片。

He stands at the threshold, framed by the dark stonework against the deeper darkness beyond it. He does not see the open gateway before him, nor the angular Ochnun inscriptions that surround it. He does not see the fragments of bone that litter the flagstones beneath his boots.

我笑着，开始演戏。“灯下黑，”我告诉他，“最简单的道理嘛。”

I smile, playing my part. “It is the simplest of things,” I tell him, “to hide in plain sight.”

将军转过身，脸上满是疑惑和焦躁。“别跟我胡闹，堂弟！你知道我光是站在这里，就冒了多大风险吗？知道如果我们被抓到会怎么样吗？这一带是禁区，议会直接下达的禁令——到处都有军团在巡逻！”

The general turns, confusion and frustration written clearly upon his face. “Don’t play games with me, cousin! Do you have any idea what I’m risking, being down here? Or what would happen if we’re caught? These districts are forbidden, by order of the council—there are Legion patrols everywhere!”

这话倒是真的。自从篡位者斯维因掌权以后，就对不朽堡垒进行了封锁。官方说辞是为了保护崔法利议会，防止那些反对建立议会的贵族进行打击报复。

This, at least, is true. Ever since the usurper Swain seized control, he has kept the Immortal Bastion locked down. Officially, it is to protect the Trifarix against reprisals from those noble houses that opposed its creation.

非官方的说辞是，他在向诸如布兰宁·古兰斯这种人发出挑战，看谁敢与他为敌。

Unofficially, he is daring men like Brannin Granth to expose themselves as his enemies.

“但他们不会怀疑你的忠诚，”我安抚他，“你可不是别人，是哀伤之门的英雄啊。你将受到大统领本人授意的嘉奖。他们敢说什么？如果我们被发现，你连跑都不用跑。”

“But they would not doubt your loyalty,” I reassure him. “A hero of the Gates of Mourning, no less. You are to be honored by command of the Grand General himself. What can they say to that? If we were spotted, you would not even need to run.”

他的脸更暗了。“噢，谁都别在崔法利军团面前逃跑。”

His expression darkens. “Oh, you don’t run from the Trifarian Legion…”

别让我再听这毫不遮掩的政治宣传了。还不到一年，斯维因就已经围绕自己和诺克萨斯之手营造出了一种神秘感，所有效忠他俩的人也都跟着一起变得神秘兮兮的。这的确是一条妙计，我不得不满怀憎恨地承认这一点。

I do not need to hear this thinly veiled propaganda again. In little more than a year, Swain has built a certain mystique around himself and the Hand of Noxus, and those that serve them both. It is a brilliant scheme, though it fills my heart with hatred to admit it.

即便如此，我还是没有打断古兰斯。我们到这里来就是要让他想清楚的。

Even so, I let Granth have his moment. It is why we are here.

他的目光落到地面上。“我们并没有赢下哀伤之门——是军团赢下的。所以斯维因才根本没有出席庆功会。他知道这场胜利根本不需要我们，他娘的。那场夸耀的典礼，只是为了羞辱我们，还当着整个诺克萨斯的面！”

His eyes fall to the ground. “We didn’t win the Gates of Mourning—the Legion did. That’s why Swain won’t attend the triumph. He knows we need not even have been there, damn him. He insults us with this pomp and ceremony, in front of all Noxus!”

我点点头，一只手放在古兰斯的肩上。“所以我们才要让他为自己的所作所为付出代价。你是真正的诺克萨斯人，大家有目共睹。我已经和其他人说起过你，他们都想亲自见你。她想见你。”

I nod, laying a hand on Granth’s shoulder. “And that is why we will make him pay for everything he has done. You are a true Noxian, anyone can see that. I have told the others all about you, and they wish to meet you for themselves. She wishes to meet you.”

“我谁也见不着，堂弟，除非我们先进去。”他环顾四周。“难道黑色玫——”

“I can’t meet anyone, cousin, if we can’t get inside.” He glances around. “Doesn’t the Black Ro—”

我缩了下脑袋。“别用那个名字称呼。显得你……就像你刚才说的，显得你不明白。”

I recoil. “Do not use that name. It makes you sound like… well, as you said. Like you don’t understand.”

我挤过他身边，走进巨口一般的大门。他惊讶得差点没拿住灯笼，这个时候他才看到入口。古兰斯踉跄地跟在我身后，查看四周确保我们没有被跟踪，然后眯起眼睛看向走廊深处的黑影。

Pushing past him, I stride through the yawning mouth of the gate. He almost drops the lantern in surprise, seeing the entrance now, for the first time. Stumbling after me, Granth checks to make sure we are not being followed, then squints into the shadows of the passageway.

“是真的吗？”他悄声说，“关于她的传闻，都是真的吗？”

“Is it true?” he hisses. “What they say about her, is it true?”

我没有放缓步伐。“来吧，眼见为实。”

I do not slow my pace. “Come. Find out for yourself.”

不同于大多数诺克萨斯人的认知，不朽堡垒并不是一座纪念碑。不同于古老部落的记忆，它也不仅仅是一座要塞。

The Immortal Bastion is not a monument, as most Noxians believe. Nor is it merely a fortress, in the sense that the old tribes knew it.

我们周围的石块充满力量，几乎要自己敲出声响来，不过古兰斯基本上察觉不到。在过去的几百年里，这场面我已看过无数次——他知道有什么地方不对劲，但感觉到的只有某种沉沉的死气拖拽自己的四肢，只有脑后若有若无的刺痒。很少有凡人在如此靠近源泉以后还能坚持多久。不得不夸奖他，居然还能保持理智，当一个穿着长袍的人影从暗处浮现时，他还能伸手摸向自己的匕首。

The stone around us almost thrums with power, though Granth is mostly oblivious. I have seen it countless times, through the centuries—he knows something is not right, but feels it only as a lethargic drag on his limbs, and a whispering itch in the back of his brain. Few mortals last long when they are this close to the source. To his credit, he still has his wits about him, enough to reach for his dagger when a robed figure emerges from the gloom.

……我从我们两个身边迎面而过。我看上去有点憔悴。

…I pass both of us, coming in the other direction. I look tired.

不要紧。很快就要完成了。

No matter. This will be concluded soon enough.

古兰斯狐疑地看着我，直到我从视线中消失，然后他慢慢来到那个被他认作堂弟的人身边。

Granth eyes me suspiciously until I disappear from sight, then ambles to the side of the person he knows as his cousin.

“海德里翁，这都是什么人？”古兰斯问道，更多的神秘人影浮现又消失。“我一个都不认识。他们是你说的盟友吗？其他家族的？”

“Hadrion, who are these people?” Granth asks, as more anonymous figures come and go. “I don’t recognize any of them. Are they the allies you spoke of, among the other houses?”

我叹了口气。顶尖的军事头脑往往无法正视眼前的事实，很让我失望。“对于我们家族的困境，他们感同身受，”我尽量不让声音中流露出鄙夷，“我们所有人，都致力于颠覆篡位者的统治，光复帝国的王权。最好就是你不知道他们的名字，也不认识他们的样子。”

I sigh. It is disappointing that the finest military minds often cannot see what is right in front of them. “They are sympathetic to our family’s plight,” I reply, keeping the disdain from my voice. “We, all of us, are committed to the downfall of the usurper, and the restoration of the throne. It is better that you do not know their names, or their faces.”

他嗤笑了一声。“那我们又要怎么合作呢？如果——”

He scoffs. “But how can we work together, if we—”

他话说到一半没了声音，因为我们转过了最后一个拐角。

The words die on his lips as we turn the last corner.

我们就站在灵魂巨井的边缘，这口竖井深深扎进诺克萨斯地下的基岩，深度远超这座堡垒本身尺寸的容纳范围。冷峻的蓝色和可疑的绿色交融成翻滚的瘴气，在下方深处远远地旋转，映照出峡口上方横跨着的三座桥。

We stand at the edge of the great well of souls, plunging down into the bedrock of Noxus, far deeper than the physical dimensions of the Bastion should even allow. A roiling miasma of cold blues and jealous greens swirls in the distance beneath us, underlighting the three bridges that span the gap.

在桥梁下方，疯狂的漩涡上，一个巨大、可怕的人形黑影悬在半空中，每个诺克萨斯人都不可能认错。一副没有生命的盔甲，每一本历史书里都必然会提及。旧城区里有上千尊它的雕像，全都被砸掉了面部。

There, between them, suspended against the madness, is a frightful, hulking silhouette that every Noxian knows only too well. A husk of lifeless armor depicted in every history book, and a thousand defaced statues scattered across the old city.

古兰斯后退了半步。“不可能……”他喃喃自语，“不……不可……”

Granth takes half a step back. “It can't be…” he murmurs. “It… It can't…”

他的声音在颤抖。他的双眼噙着泪水。我凑到他肩膀旁，在他耳后低语。

His voice is cracking. His eyes glisten with tears. I lean in over his shoulder, to whisper behind his ear.

“现在，你看到真相了吗？伟大的诺克萨斯帝国背后的真相？上百年来始终如此，自从先王的时代就已如此——如果没有不朽堡垒女主人的允许，就没有任何大统领、皇帝或霸王的存立。为她效力的有很多，但真正够格的寥寥无几。”

“Do you see the truth of it, now? The truth behind the great empire of Noxus? So has it been for centuries, since the days of the first kings—no Grand General, no emperor or tyrant, can stand unless the mistress of the Immortal Bastion allows it. Many are those who would serve, though few prove worthy.”

我轻轻把灯笼从他发抖的手中抽出来，带他离开了那副摄人心魄的景象，走向另一侧的走廊，一排挂着幕帘的壁龛整齐排列在一侧。

I gently pluck the lantern from his trembling fingers, and guide him away from the sight that has so transfixed him, toward the veiled alcoves that line the passage on either side.

“斯维因必须下台。我们的密社对此心无旁骛，为达目的不惜代价。”

“Swain must fall. Our cabal is utterly committed to this, above all else, and we will sacrifice whatever we must to achieve it.”

某种程度上，古兰斯不需要我拉开幕帘就已经知道自己将会看到什么了。

On some level, Granth knows what he will see even before I pull back the shroud.

是他的堂弟，海德里翁被肢解的尸体。那个年轻人的表情凝固在死亡的疯狂笑容中，但同时也让人感到一种确切的安宁。

It is the dessicated body of his cousin, Hadrion. The younger man’s features are frozen in a deathly rictus, yet there is an unmistakable sense of peace about it.

“你的家族在政变期间遭到了最不公平的孤立。布兰宁·古兰斯。你的父亲和他的兄弟们失去了所拥有的一切，只是因为他们最后坚持效忠勃朗·达克威尔。海德里翁心甘情愿地为了复仇而献出了生命。你是否愿意承担这笔血债，同样加入我们的行列？”

“Your house was singled out most unfairly during the coup, Brannin Granth. Your father and his brothers were stripped of all they possessed, simply for remaining true to Boram Darkwill at the end. Hadrion gave his life gladly in pursuit of revenge. Will you honor that debt, and join us now, too?”

古兰斯缓缓跪下，用另一种目光仰视我。“你。你就是她。你就是苍白女士。”

Granth sinks to his knees, looking up at me with fresh eyes. “You. You are her. You are the pale woman.”

当第二个苍白女士出现在我身边时，他纹丝未动。我们用同一个声音说，“每个地方都有我。每个人都是我。你只知道你需要知道的，只看到我让你看到的。”

He does not even flinch when a second pale woman appears at my side. We speak with the same voice. “I am everywhere. I am everyone. You know only what you need to know, and see what I want you to see.”

杰里柯·斯维因并不是唯一一个会夸大自己传奇故事的人。

Jericho Swain is not the only one who can exaggerate his own legend.

第三个苍白女士从古兰斯背后走出，然后是第四个。不过，他还是在面向着我，低着头。他无疑是明白的。并不需要我们提示，他就注意到了他堂弟旁边有个空着的壁龛。

A third pale woman steps out behind Granth, and then a fourth. Even so, he bows his head to me, no doubt convinced he finally understands. He does not need us to point out the empty alcove beside his cousin’s.

“我将全心全意，”他开始发誓，“用我满腔贵族热血，为您效力，我的女士。我将不眠不休，直到伪皇斯维因灰飞烟灭。”

“With all my heart,” he swears, “and every drop of my noble blood, I will serve you, my lady. I will not rest until the pretender Swain is dead.”

这个天真的蠢货以为他会成为终结一切的英雄。我放任他自我陶醉，因为正合我意。其实，这次的目标只是试探一下那个大统领的戒备。

This naive fool thinks he will be the one to land the killing blow. I will let him think that, for it suits my purpose, which is merely to probe the Grand General’s defenses.

我在古兰斯额头前方的半空中画出密社的徽记，把他标记为我的人。只要是能看到徽记的人，都不会干涉我们接下来要执行的密谋。“站起来吧，诺克希的骄子。誓言已经订立。我们将共同凯旋，你的名字将被赞颂为帝国的拯救者。”

I trace the sigil of the cabal in the air above Granth’s head, marking him as my own. None who can see it will interfere with the plots we shall soon devise. “Rise then, proud son of the Noxii. Your pledge is heard and accepted. Together, we will be victorious, and your name will be celebrated as the savior of an empire.”