战火金兰 第一部：旧伤 Sisterhood of War Part I: Old Wounds

作者：Ian St. Martin

“刚刚说的，你有哪里不明白吗？”

“Is anything you just heard unclear to you?”蒂法莲芝半跪在黑暗中。她并没有循着话音，因为那个声音本身就是这片黑暗的一部分。它充满了这间闭室，带着酸胀的暖意和恶心的甜腻，一股花朵腐烂般的气味。但这并没有什么值得大惊小怪的，因为她已经发誓将生命献给符文的流转盈亏——即便是像蒂法莲芝这样年轻的工匠，也不会在这个时候质疑自己身边围绕的东西。Tifalenji knelt in darkness. She did not raise her head to the voice addressing her, because the voice was part of that darkness. It filled the chamber, swelling warm and sickly sweet, with a scent like rotting flowers. Such a thing was not particularly remarkable to one whose life was sworn to the weft and wane of runes—even a smith as young as Tifalenji did not question what surrounded her, now.她知道该在什么时候接受超出自己理解范围的东西。She knew when to accept that something was beyond her understanding.“完全明白。”她答道。“All is clear,” she answered.“很好。”“Excellent.”黑暗发出刺耳的刮擦声，就像猛然抽了一口气。“你的女主人对你评价很高。说的是，足智多谋。”说到这个词的时候，它换了个嗓音，成了蒂法莲芝的老师，“足智多谋，便是可堪大用。”The darkness rasped, as though drawing in breath. “Your mistress spoke highly of you. Resourceful,” it spoke the word in another voice, the voice of Tifalenji’s teacher, “and those who are resourceful can be of great use.”蒂法莲芝咽了下口水。她感到空气中出现了扰动，闭室内温度升高，就像突然挤满了人。她斗胆斜着眼睛向一旁看去，看见了长袍下摆的褶皱——沿着墙壁站满了人，将她和声音的来源围在中间。Tifalenji swallowed. She felt the air displace, the temperature rise as though the chamber were now filled with people. Daring to look out the corner of her eye, she saw the hems of robed figures lining the walls, ringing her and the source of the voice.“望月。”突然闪出一道光，映在石板地面上，冷峻而皎洁。“观其运行之轨，知其变转之道。”“Watch the moon.” Suddenly there was a pulse of light, reflecting cold and silver against the floor. “See its course, how it turns.”她的头脑飞速旋转，思考着可能面临的事情。每一瞬、每一幕从她眼前散落，就像沙漏中落下的粒粒细砂。Her mind raced, considering what lay ahead, the moments available to her spilling away one by one, like grains of sand from an hourglass.“切记，你的任务高于一切。”一只手从黑暗中伸出来，轻轻捏着蒂法莲芝的下颌。“我们托付给你找寻的，你将要带回来的，无物可以取代。”那只手扶起了蒂法莲芝的脸，她抬头看到的是完美的镜像，是她自己的面孔，却挂着另一个人的笑容。“Remember your task above all else.” A hand extended from the dark, cupping Tifalenji’s chin. “What we have entrusted you to find, to return to us, cannot be replaced.” The hand lifted Tifalenji’s head, and she looked up into a perfect reflection of her own face, grinning with another person’s smile.“不过，你却可以。”俄拉斯是诺克萨斯的孩子。从他这一代起，新生的孩子都是诺克萨斯帝国的人，而他迈出第一步的同时，训练就开始了。

“You, however, can be.”Erath was a son of Noxus. From the first generation of his tribe to be born into the empire, his training had begun the day he took his first steps.

毅力。纪律。决心。

Fortitude. Discipline. Resolve.

他是牧人们带大的，每日料理牧群和驮兽，把它们养得膘肥体壮，直待收获之时。他学会了屠宰，干净利落，也学会了刀不离身的道理。儿时的练习将在日后受益匪浅，因为诺克萨斯将征召他为国效力。

He was raised among shepherds, tending flocks and beasts of burden, keeping them well until the time for harvest came. He learned to kill, quickly and cleanly, with the small knife he had been taught to never let leave his side. It was a lesson that would do him credit when the day came that Noxus would call upon him to serve.

他学会了杀人，帝国的敌人，但却从不憎恨他们。因为只需要一场仪式，帝国的敌人就能变成家里新来的兄弟姐妹。昨天的敌人，今天就会带着荣誉与使命成为诺克萨斯军人，站在俄拉斯身边共筑阵线。让他更加强壮。

He had been taught to kill his enemies, his empire’s enemies, but never to hate them. Because an enemy of the empire was never more than a ceremony away from being a wayward brother or sister, brought forth with honor and purpose into the arms of Noxus to stand beside Erath in the line. To make him stronger.

把敌人杀成自己的家人。父亲曾经一边说着，一边向他展示自己在旧时的征战中留下的一道道暗紫色疤痕。俄拉斯从没恨过他的敌人，但站在这里，看着身边环绕着的奇观绝景，他不由得可怜起那些素未谋面的敌人。

Kill them until they’re family, his father had once told him, when he showed Erath the dull purple trails of his old campaign scars. Erath had never hated his enemies, but here, looking around at the scope of what surrounded him, without even knowing who their enemy was, he pitied them.

街道上人声鼎沸，一条无尽的队列，成千上万名士兵沿着条条大道在不朽堡垒周围列队行进。十多种不同的语言交叠在一起，大声喊叫着原始的祷言、口号和战歌。诺克萨斯大军那不可阻挡的力量一览无余，来自帝国东西南北的刀剑和人手全都聚集于此。来自地方部族的作战代表身着皮革和隆重的礼服沿着道路漫步，后面跟着步伐整齐的士兵队列，全身披挂着黑铁板甲，另外还有一队制服颜色明亮的恕瑞玛水兵。

The streets quaked with an endless procession, tens of thousands of soldiers passing down the boulevards and avenues of the Immortal Bastion. A dozen tongues overlapped in the primal shouted rhythm of battle chants, marching calls, and war song. The full unbridled might of the Noxian host was on display, with blades and the hands that wielded them from across the breadth of the empire. Tribal war parties sauntered down the roads, clad in skins and ceremonial dress, followed by tightly regimented cohorts of troops encased in blackened iron plate, and a contingent of brightly uniformed naval soldiers from Shurima.

他们后面还跟着更多部队，躡踵不绝。

And more after them, and on, and on.

无数个民族，却是同一个帝国。这壮观的场面，这纯粹的力量彰显，让俄拉斯见之愕然。

Countless peoples, but a single empire. The spectacle, the sheer demonstration of strength, stilled Erath’s heart to see it.

俄拉斯自己的部族也在其中。他们从达拉莫平原出发，南下乘船渡河来到都城，此刻正在陆续下船。他和战友们在划桨的时候就被不朽堡垒的雄姿震慑过。那块坐落于帝国中心的远古独石高耸挺立，早在他们抵达终点的两天前就已经出现在视野中。目前他们已经进入了城市的界限，部族酋长雅哈维正在与一群军需官争吵。俄拉斯再次抬头看向不朽堡垒。太阳被挡在堡垒中心的三座巨大石塔身后，如同一颗耀眼的珍宝被藏了起来。

Erath’s own tribe was in the midst of disembarking from the riverboat that had ferried them from the plains of Dalamor down south to the capital. He and his comrades had marveled over their oars at the sight of the Immortal Bastion, the towering central monolith of ancient stone visible two days out from their arrival. He looked up from watching his chieftain Yhavi squabble with a gaggle of quartermasters to behold it again, now within the boundaries of the city proper. The sun was trapped behind the trio of enormous towers at the center of the Bastion, locked away like a shining jewel.

关于那些素未谋面的敌人的想法又回到了俄拉斯的脑海，他笑了。有谁能挡得住这样的军队啊？

The thought of their unknown enemy returned to Erath’s mind, and he smiled. What could stand before this?

都尼斯，长枪兵中的一员，用手肘戳了戳俄拉斯，打断了他的遐想，然后对着他们酋长的方向努努嘴——他正在招呼俄拉斯。俄拉斯迅速来到雅哈维面前。酋长刚刚拿到了一卷上等皮纸，上面写的是他们接到的命令。

Donnis, one of the spearmen, nudged Erath from his thoughts, nodding toward their chieftain who was beckoning Erath over. He quickly moved to stand before Yhavi, who had just been handed a ream of vellum inked with their orders.

“我们很快就将出发。”雅哈维用他们部族的语言说道，目光还在扫视他们刚刚接到的军令。

“We move soon,” Yhavi began, speaking in their tribal tongue as he looked over their mandate.

“他们说仗要在哪打了吗？”俄拉斯问道，兴奋之情溢于言表。

“Have they said where the fighting will be, yet?” asked Erath, letting his excitement get the better of him.

“没有。”雅哈维皱起眉头，眯起眼睛看着诺克萨斯语写下的笔迹。“但你不用在意。你不跟我们一起走。”

“No,” Yhavi frowned, squinting at the Noxian script before looking at the boy. “But it won’t matter to you. You won’t be coming with us.”

“我不明白，”俄拉斯也和酋长一样皱起了眉。“我是要给你当剑僮的。”离开家乡之前，俄拉斯在一次鲜血试炼中赢得了这份荣誉，他将有幸在行军队列中背负雅哈维的装备，在战斗前为他的古剑打磨涂油，在战场中为他整备包扎。如果厄运降临，他还要负责为雅哈维守灵。如果不是俄拉斯，还会是谁？

“I don’t understand,” Erath adopted his chieftain’s frown. “I’m to be your blade squire.” Erath had won the honor in a blood trial before the tribe departed home. It was Erath’s right to bear Yhavi’s wargear on the battle train, to hone and oil his relic blade on the eve of battle, to arm his chieftain and bind his wounds, and should calamity pass, to see to Yhavi’s body if he fell. If not Erath, then who?

“你确实要当剑僮了，”雅哈维说，“但不是我的。你被临时调派到了别处。”他感觉到了俄拉斯的疑惑，于是他坚定了语气。“为了诺克萨斯。”

“You shall be a blade squire indeed,” said Yhavi. “Just not mine. You have been seconded elsewhere.” He sensed the confusion in Erath, and his tone hardened. “For Noxus.”

俄拉斯立正站好，将一切疑问抛在脑后，他收起情绪，握紧一只拳头重重打在胸前，行了一个军礼。“为了帝国。”

Erath straightened, pushing the questions from his thoughts, his features neutral and firm as he thudded a fist against his chest in salute. “For the empire.”

雅哈维回了一礼，并点头赞许。“我们都要听从帝国的召唤。利剑在手，战意在心。”

Yhavi returned the salute, and dipped his head in approval. “We all shall answer when called, blades sharp, minds ready.”

一次深呼吸过后，俄拉斯抛开了刚才的失望。“我准备好了。”

With a deep breath, Erath put his disappointment out of his mind. “I am ready.”

雅哈维的表情不再严肃，他对男孩露出了温暖的微笑。“我知道，俄拉斯。如果他看到今天的你一定会感到骄傲，我很清楚。”俄拉斯低下目光，雅哈维递给他一个小卷轴，封有蜡印，紧紧卷实。“穿过我们前面的运河，前往堡垒的第九道门。军团士兵会拦下你。你就把这个给他们看。”

Yhavi’s grim facade cracked, and he offered the boy a warm grin. “I know you are, Erath. He would see you this day and feel pride, I know it.” Erath glanced down for a moment, and Yhavi handed him a small scroll, sealed and tightly rolled. “Proceed to the ninth gate of the Bastion, across the canal just ahead of us. The legionaries will stop you. Show them this.”

光是崔法利军团的名字就让俄拉斯不禁站得更挺拔了一些。他端详了一下卷轴，这张纸被漂白得发亮，相比之下其他同胞拿到的军令皮纸就显得粗糙了。他此前从没见白纸。卷轴的触感十足地精致细腻。

Even a mention of the Trifarian Legion made Erath stand straighter. He studied the scroll, brightly bleached paper compared to the rough vellum of his brethren’s mandate. He had never seen paper before. It felt delicate in his fingers.

“看来命运给你单独安排了一条路，孩子。”雅哈维慈祥地看着俄拉斯，脸上的表情是部族对即将踏上戎马生涯的战士的祝福。他用一只布满伤疤的大手握住俄拉斯的肩膀，最后与他道别。“大胆走吧。”俄拉斯在摩肩擦踵的人群中穿梭，整座城市都在进行战备。对于荒无人烟的牧民村落中长大的孩子，这里的一切都显得庞大而震撼。高耸的纪念碑，还有石头、钢铁、玻璃打造的建筑矗立在街道两边，赶赴下一场战役的军队将地面踩得平整光滑。俄拉斯被人潮裹挟着，甚至让他无法抬起手。他从没想象过这么多人，这么多种语言。这样的冲击令人难以招架，但他始终没有忘记自己的使命。

“It seems fate has its own course for you to walk, enhasyi,” Yhavi favored Erath with the tribal expression for a warrior poised to make his mark on the warpath. He laid a scarred paw of a hand on Erath’s shoulder, before sending him on his way. “Walk it well.”Erath navigated the bustling throng of a city readying itself for war. For a boy raised in a lonely shepherd’s village, the scale of everything was astounding. Towering monuments and buildings of stone, iron, and glass loomed over streets worn smooth by armies marching to the next campaign. Erath moved along the current of humanity, barely able to lift his arms within the crowd. He had never considered there could be so many peoples, so many languages. It was nearly overwhelming, but he kept his mind to his duty.

他的部族中几乎无人通晓诺克萨斯的语言，但俄拉斯能够基本使用瓦-诺克萨斯语这种通用的口语交流。他对帝国官方的书面文字也算略通一二，认识的字词足以让他猜出路标和刻印上的大致意思，并顺着指示找到第九大门。他的目的地就在前方，他将在那里向自己的新指挥官报道。

Few from the tribe were learned in Noxian, but Erath knew a passable amount of Va-Noxian, the unified spoken tongue, and a paltry understanding of the empire’s formal written language. He knew enough to guess at the signs and engravings to guide him along toward the ninth gate, just up ahead, where he was to report to his new commander.

俄拉斯把自己随身的布袋扛到肩上，另一只手摸进坎肩的领口，擦过胸前佩戴的骨制坠饰。他的手放在坠饰上抚慰片刻，然后在怀里摸到了军令，那张缠紧的白纸卷轴。这个小东西价值不菲，而他也不由得联想自己的新主子会是什么人，他们的任务会有多重要。他想得过于忘我，甚至没有注意到自己已经走进大门前的庭院，也没看到大门上投下的两个巨大的影子。

Shouldering the sackcloth pack holding his kit, Erath reached into his jerkin, passing over the bone pendant he wore around his neck. He laid a reassuring hand on the pendant for a moment before touching his orders, inscribed on the tightly rolled sheet of bleached paper. The value of the tiny thing made his mind race as to who his new leader would be, and how important their mission. He was so lost in thought he didn’t notice falling under a pair of towering shadows cast over the courtyard of the gate.

“寇西斯-戈-弗雅尔！”

“Khosis g’vyar!”

一声锐利的金属碰撞声让俄拉斯愣在了原地。他抬起头，发现自己正面对着两柄长戟的锋刃，戟长超过他的身高，都瞄准了他的心脏。持着长戟的是两个黑铁战甲的怪兽，血红的斗篷像怒涛般在他们肩上狂舞，尖刺头盔之中两双眼睛正在对他怒目而视。

A sharp crash of iron froze Erath in place. He looked up from the ground, finding himself staring down the gleaming edges of twin halberds, each longer than he was tall and leveled at his heart. Wielding the spears were monsters of blackened iron plate, capes the hue of fresh blood billowing from their shoulders, glowering down at him from the impassive masks of spiked war helms.

俄拉斯突然感到喘不上气来。崔法利军团。他刚才注意到这里的大门都没有门闩。因为这两个诺克萨斯精英战士，他们就是门闩。

Erath’s breath caught in his throat. Trifarian Legionaries. He noticed then that the gates weren’t barred. These two, of the Noxian warrior elite, they were the bars.

其中一名军团士兵重复了一边刚才的战吼，铿锵有力，经过头盔的回响后似乎变得更加低沉。这句话听上去很陌生，有种奇怪的口音。

The challenge repeated, thundering from one of the legionaries, somehow deepened and projected to an inhuman degree by his mask. The words were unfamiliar, thick with a strange dialect.

是瓦-诺克萨斯语吗？俄拉斯向一旁避开目光，努力回忆自己所学。那名士兵歪着脑袋，清了清嗓子，发出类似碎石滑坡的声音。

Was it Va-Noxian? Erath squinted, remembering what he had learned. The warrior tilted his head, clearing his throat with a sound like rubble dislodging.

“去哪，小刀子？”军团士兵又吼了一遍，这一次的音调稍微清晰了些。

“Where go, little blade?” the legionary rumbled again, in more clipped tones.

俄拉斯大喘一口气，就像溺水的人浮上了水面。他终于听懂了。但他的舌头还是像打了结，上下牙也止不住地打架。他把手慢慢伸进里怀，面对更加紧张的两位军团士兵露出尴尬的苦笑，最后终于抽出了卷轴。

Erath exhaled like a drowning man finally reaching the water’s surface, able to understand the words. Still his tongue defied him, thick and still behind teeth he desperately fought to keep from chattering. Slowly, he reached into his jerkin, wincing as he saw the legionaries tense, and produced the scroll.

两名士兵交换了一下眼神。刚才那个喊话的士兵扛起长戟，踩着轰隆隆的步伐逼近俄拉斯，来到距离他一步远的地方。俄拉斯仰起头，身高刚刚能够到那个士兵的胸膛，然后他递出了军令。

The warriors exchanged a glance, and one of them, the one who had spoken, shouldered his halberd. He advanced on Erath with heavy, pounding bootsteps, stopping just a pace away from the boy. Erath looked up, barely reaching the man’s chest, and held out his orders.

那名军团士兵从俄拉斯手里抽走卷轴，在他带着手套的粗壮手指之间，纸卷小得有些可笑。他轻轻一捏，把蜡封搓碎。随着一撮红色蜡屑缓缓洒落，卷轴展开了。端详了片刻后，那名士兵原地转身，用长戟的钝端对着光滑的石板地面连敲三下，每一下敲击都在大门的昏暗拱廊内久久回荡。

The legionary plucked the scroll from Erath’s grasp, the paper looking ridiculous in his thick, gauntleted fingers. With a quick squeeze he crushed the seal in his fist, and the scroll unspooled in a small shower of broken bits of red wax. After studying it for a moment, the legionary spun on his heel and hammered the butt of his halberd three times against the polished stone floor, the boom of each impact ringing from the dark archway of the gate.

几秒过后，俄拉斯听到了穿着便鞋的脚步声。一个身穿长袍的人影从门内的阴影中出现，长袍的红色罩帽藏住了她的脸。她停在军团士兵面前，丝毫不畏惧他的凶悍和魁梧，从他手中接过了卷轴。

Within seconds, Erath heard the soft, echoing slaps of sandaled feet approaching. A robed figure emerged from the darkness of the gate, her features hidden in the shadow of a red cowl. She stopped before the legionary, completely unfazed by his menacing, armored bulk, and took the scroll from him.

“你跟我走。”她对俄拉斯说道，然后再没多看一眼，回过身开始向庭院另一侧走去。俄拉斯赶紧跟在她后面，回头看到那名军团士兵慢慢走回自己的位置，每一步都振地有声。

“You will follow me,” she said to Erath without sparing him a glance, turning and setting off across the courtyard. Erath hurried after her, looking back over his shoulder to watch the legionary plod back to his place beside his fellow guard.

俄拉斯跟着那个穿长袍的女人，又穿过了一条运河，一路转弯向着城市中心走去。他们一直都走在旁支侧路上，故意避开宽阔的大道，因为行进中的部队都在大道上，而且道路两旁都整齐地布满了兵营帐篷。

Erath followed the robed woman as they crossed over another canal and wound deeper into the bustling city. They kept to side streets, avoiding the larger boulevards packed with troop movements and hemmed by rows of barrack tents arrayed on either side.

不多久，俄拉斯开始嗅到一股强烈的气味。干草、鲜草、粪便，这些味道是任何牧民和驯兽师都再熟悉不过的。他听到了动物的低沉叫声，有一些他认识，还有许多他不认识。

Before long, Erath began to pick up strong scents on the air. Straw, cut grass, dung, smells that were familiar to any shepherd or beast herder. He heard the low baying of animals, some he recognized, many he did not.

他们走出一条窄巷，来到一个宽阔的广场，许多人都在这里照料着动物。巨大的驮兽被关在封闭的隔间里。形形色色的人分别在查看圈里的羊、清点棚舍里的鸡。俄拉斯猜测，这片空地本来是有其他用途的，可能是一座公园或者公共花园，但现在已经被征用，成为总动员的一部分。

The narrow alley they were walking ended, opening up into a wide open square filled with people tending animals. Massive pack beasts grazed on confined plots. Men and women checked pens of sheep and counted chickens in their coops. It seemed to Erath as though the area had served some other purpose, maybe as a park or public garden, but now had been requisitioned and was being used as part of the greater mobilization.

一种熟悉的感觉让俄拉斯感到慰藉，他心态平和，这时他们停在了广场周边的一个帐篷前。穿长袍的女人把卷轴还给了俄拉斯，拉开了帐篷的幕帘，示意他进去。确认他走进帐篷以后，她就立刻消失了。

The comfort of familiarity washed over Erath, setting his mind at ease as they stopped before a tent at the periphery of the square. The robed woman returned the scroll to Erath and pulled the flap aside, gesturing for him to enter and disappearing as soon as he had.

帐篷内空气凉爽，而浓烈的焚香辣得俄拉斯双眼流泪。他筋着鼻子站在门口，眯着眼睛想要看清里面的情况。帐篷里唯一的光亮来自正中央一个半跪着的人影。她的双臂正在空中挥动，编织着一串符文。那些符文环绕着一把剑发出绿光，而那把剑正悬在半空中，正对她面前。

Inside the tent the air was cold, and thick with the spicy tang of incense that made Erath’s eyes water. He wrinkled his nose as he stood at the entrance, squinting to try to study the interior. The only light came from a kneeling figure at the center of the tent, her arms weaving a strand of glowing green runes around a sword that hung suspended in the air above her.

俄拉斯出神地看着魔法的进行。符文优雅地起舞，烙印在剑刃侧面，然后一个接一个消失。他回忆起小时候看到过自己部族里的萨满，他们曾在仪式中把空气变成火焰。他的目光回避着那些标志，因为即使是余光扫到一眼，也会让他感觉满口牙齿都要松动。随着最后一枚符文渐渐熄灭，那个女子转过头，顺手接住从空中下落的剑，同时站了起来。

Erath watched the magic, entranced by the elegant dance of the runes as they burned themselves into the blade of the sword and vanished one by one. He remembered watching the shamans of his tribe as a child, when they turned the air into fire for their rituals. He avoided staring directly at the symbols, as even out of the corner of his eye they made his teeth itch. The woman turned her head slightly as the last rune winked out, catching her blade as it fell and rising to her feet.

“报告，”俄拉斯立正站好，行了军礼。他把卷轴递给她。“这是我的军令。”

“Reporting for duty,” Erath snapped to attention and saluted. He extended the scroll to her. “My orders.”

那个女子没有理会，似乎还沉浸在魔法仪式中，自顾自地把她的剑放在武器架上。她点亮了帐篷中心的灯笼，温润的琥珀色灯光洒下来。她个子很高，黝黑的皮肤意味着她来自另一个遥远的地方，肯定不是俄拉斯所熟知的寒冷的北方。他看到绿色的符文在她眼中闪烁了一下，她与他短暂地目光交接。

The woman ignored him, moving as though in a trance to set her blade on an arming rack. She lit a lantern at the center of the tent, bathing them both in soft, amber light. She was tall, her dusky skin speaking of a home far from the chill northern reaches Erath hailed from. He saw the same green light from the runes flicker once in her eyes, as she glanced at him.

“识字？”

“Literate?”

俄拉斯犹豫了一下。她的瓦-诺克萨斯口音有一种悦耳的节奏，跟之前在庭院和都城里听到的粗哑声音完全不同。那个女子疑问地眯起双眼。

Erath hesitated. Her Va-Noxian had a lilting, mellifluous accent, far different from the curt and guttural voices he had heard so far in the capital. The woman’s eyes narrowed.

“你识字吗？”她再次问道。她的表情可能是疲劳也可能是无聊，俄拉斯无法分辨究竟是哪一种。

“You are literate?” she asked again. She looked either fatigued or bored, and Erath couldn’t tell which.

俄拉斯点点头。“我稍微认识几个字，夫人。”

Erath nodded. “I know some of the written word, mistress.”

“这上面的字你看了吗？”她举起卷轴问道，俄拉斯突然意识到那个卷轴已经不在自己手上了。

“Did you read this?” she asked, holding up the scroll Erath realized was no longer in his hand.

“我没看，夫人。”俄拉斯摇摇头。

“No, mistress,” Erath shook his head.

“很好，”她利索地说着，把纸卷掖进了袖子里。“我是蒂法莲芝，从现在开始，我说的话就是你的铁律。我说的话你要听、要想、要照做，动作也要快，能做到的话，咱俩之间就会避免许多不愉快。懂了吗？”

“Good,” she said sharply, tucking the roll of paper into her sleeve. “I am Tifalenji, and from this moment, my word is law to you. Read, think, and do what I say, when I say, and much unpleasantness will be avoided between us. Do you understand?”

俄拉斯再次行礼。“是，夫人。”

Erath saluted again. “Yes, mistress.”

“我们离开都城以后，就免礼了。”蒂法莲芝从桌子上拿起一个账本，翻阅里面的内容。

“Once we are clear of the capital, there will be no more saluting.” Tifalenji took up a ledger from a table, thumbing through its contents.

“我可以问一个问题吗，夫人？”

“May I ask a question, mistress?”

她抬起目光。“不要养成提问的习惯。”

She looked up. “Do not make a habit of it.”

“我该如何效劳？”俄拉斯问，“我的具体的职责是？”

“How may I serve?” Erath asked. “What are to be my duties?”

蒂法莲芝合上账本。“我需要一个能熟练照料和蓄养动物的人，要求年轻力壮、吃苦耐劳。你是从达拉莫平原来的吧？”

Tifalenji snapped the ledger shut. “I needed someone versed in the care and upkeep of beasts, young and of hearty enough stock. You are from the plains of Dalamor, yes?”

“是的，夫人。”他努力不让自己的声音里掺进愤怒。他为了争当酋长的随从，差点在鲜血试炼中被迫对自己的堂兄弟下死手，可现在他又要干起老本行，照顾动物？“我在老家就是牧民。”

“Yes, mistress,” he fought to keep anger from his voice. He had nearly had to kill his cousin to win his blood trial and become his chieftain’s second, and now he was back to tending beasts? “I was a shepherd there.”

她露出短暂的微笑，俄拉斯发誓他听到有什么东西在自己身后发出了低吼，就在听力所及的范围内。“不过你即将照料的这些动物，可能会比较……奇异。”

She offered him a thin smile, and Erath could swear he could hear something snarling behind him, just within earshot. “The creatures under your care here may be more… exotic.”

帐篷的幕帘被人用力掀开。俄拉斯转过身，同时一只手立刻摸上了刀柄。

The flap of the tent was thrown open in a snap of whipping canvas. Erath turned, his hand immediately on the grip of his knife.

“你稳住。”蒂法莲芝说道。这时俄拉斯看到了刚才是什么在低吼。

“I wouldn’t,” said Tifalenji, as Erath discovered the source of the snarling.

四条亚龙犬在帐篷门口一字排开。这几头异兽个个线条优美，肌肉遒劲，覆盖着乌黑的鳞壳，爪子如剃刀般尖锐。俄拉斯小时候听过许多故事，当平原上的各大部族被纳入帝国管辖的时候，酋长中的酋长获赠了一只亚龙犬幼崽。单凭这一件礼物就价值三车白银。他从未如此近距离观察过这种生物，一只都没有，更何况是一群。

Four drakehounds lined the entrance to the tent, sleek beasts of taut rippling muscle, bony carapace, and razor-sharp claws. Erath was told stories as a boy of when the tribes of the plains were brought into the Empire, that the chief of chiefs had been honored with a single drakehound pup, a gift worth more than three wagons of silver. He had never seen one up close, let alone a whole pack of them.

一个穿着闪亮战甲的女子站在亚龙犬后面，面甲背后的双眼炯炯有神。她的头发红得耀眼，在头顶扎起一根长辫，像头冠一样悬在脑后。她向前走入帐篷，几只猎犬自动让路，两两一组向侧面分开。

A woman in gleaming war-plate stood behind them, glowering from behind an armored mask. Her hair was a stunning, crimson red, bound at the top of her head and flowing like a crest down her back. The hounds parted as she stepped forward into the tent, a pair to either side.

“阿蕾尔，”蒂法莲芝微微颔首，“你来得正是时候，追猎手。”

“Arrel,” Tifalenji inclined her head. “You made good time, tracker.”

俄拉斯望着阿蕾尔，依然无法想象什么人能拥有四条亚龙犬。“您是贵族吗，夫人？”

Erath beheld Arrel, still unable to imagine someone owning four drakehounds. “Are you of the nobility, mistress?”

阿蕾尔目光跳到俄拉斯身上，眼神像她的盔甲一样灰冷，然后又看回蒂法莲芝。

Arrel flicked her eyes to Erath, as gray and cold as her armor, then back to Tifalenji.

“他是咱们的剑僮，”蒂法莲芝对阿蕾尔说完，看向俄拉斯，“我们是不会往土库古尔派遣贵族的。”

“Our blade squire,” said Tifalenji to Arrel before looking at Erath. “We don’t send the nobility to Tokogol.”

“西侧的边境。”俄拉斯说，“您觉得土库古尔怎么样，夫人？”

“The western frontier,” said Erath. “How did you find Tokogol, mistress?”

“冷。”阿蕾尔吭了一声。她的声音不高，但语气锐利。

“Cold,” Arrel grumbled. Her voice was low, her accent severe.

“哦，”俄拉斯点了点头。“那您这一路怎么样？”

“I see,” Erath nodded. “And your journey here?”

“远。”阿蕾尔看向蒂法莲芝，“这小玩意总是这么多话吗？”

“Long,” Arrel glanced back at Tifalenji. “Does it always talk this much?”

俄拉斯不假思索脱口而出，“我让您不悦了吗，夫人？”

Erath started. “Have I displeased you, mistress?”

“老四。”阿蕾尔大声说。其中一只亚龙犬立刻从阿蕾尔的身旁向前一跃，挡在她和俄拉斯之间。肌肉健硕的身体里散发出被压抑的暴虐。它的骨制面罩缝隙中淌出几道粘涎，不时冒出低吼和沫星。

“Fourth,” Arrel called. One of the drakehounds snapped forward from Arrel’s side, placing itself between her and Erath. Barely restrained violence radiated from the beast’s muscled frame. Thin strands of saliva descended from its bony mask, pebbled with froth from a growling throat.

“如果你惹我不悦，剑僮，”阿蕾尔说，“这只猎犬会告诉你的。另外，我也不是你的主人。”

“If you had displeased me, blade squire,” said Arrel, “this hound would have made it known to you. And I am not your mistress.”

“请原谅。”俄拉斯慢慢后退一步。“那我应该怎样称呼您？”

“Forgiveness,” Erath took a slow step back. “How would you have me address you, then?”

“如非必要，你就最好别叫我。”她整个人紧绷着，似乎说的话已经太多，嗓子太累。她摆了摆手，示意谈话结束。

“Unless necessary, I would have that you not.” She tensed, as though speaking this much had made her throat sore. She flicked her wrist, signaling an end to the discussion.

“外面有一名军需官，正在为我们配发补给，”蒂法莲芝说着，交给俄拉斯一张申领单。“去找他。”

“There is a quartermaster outside gathering our supplies,” said Tifalenji, handing Erath a requisitions order. “Go and find him.”

俄拉斯呼出一口气，小心地绕过阿蕾尔和她的爱犬，出了帐篷。他离开的同时听到阿蕾尔提了一个问题，一个他依然在问自己的问题。

Erath exhaled, walking carefully around Arrel and her hounds to exit the tent. He heard Arrel ask a question as he left, the same one he still asked himself.

“为什么把我找来，符文工匠？”“以前没见过龙蜥吧，小子？”

“Why am I here, runesmith?”“Never seen a basilisk before, eh, boy?”

俄拉斯几乎没听见军需官的话，他的注意力全被面前这个笨拙沉重的庞然大物所吸引。龙蜥是一种巨大的爬行动物，它的绿色皮肉如同钢铁般坚硬，一条条隆起的肌肉连接起树干般的四肢和巨蟒般的尾巴。在俄拉斯看来，它随便一动就能把一个成年人踩成肉泥。

Erath barely heard the quartermaster, his attention consumed by the great, lumbering beast before him. A giant saurian, the basilisk’s green flesh was hard as iron, and bulging with bands of dense muscle from its tree-trunk limbs to its long, thick tail. It looked to Erath as though it could crush a man into a paste without ever realizing it had done so.

“你以前是养什么的？”军需官问道。

“What are you used to tending?” the quartermaster asked.

“羊。”俄拉斯回答。

“Sheep,” Erath answered.

“啊，别紧张。”军需官拍了一下俄拉斯的后背。“你就当他是大个头的羊就可以。他还是头幼崽，你一定没问题的。他还没有长到真正凶残的年龄。”

“Ah, don’t you fret,” the quartermaster clapped Erath on the back. “Just think of him like a big sheep, then. He’s still a baby so you’ll be fine with ’im. Time hasn’t made ’im mean, yet.”

“这，”俄拉斯看着那个人说，“是幼崽？”

“This,” Erath looked at the man, “is a baby?”

军需官哈哈笑了两声。“大个头是用来撞破城墙的，孩子。”

The quartermaster chuckled. “We use the bigguns to break down castle walls, son.”

俄拉斯扫了一眼刚刚从符文工匠那接到的申领单。还好上面的用词都很直白，大多数都是数字，其余他不认识的都由那位军需官帮他认了出来。这头龙蜥会把一整座营地的大部分物资都背在背上，但是即使把阿蕾尔的那群亚龙犬也计算在内，他们携带的装备也远远超过了所需的分量。

Erath glanced at the requisitions order the runesmith had given him. Mercifully it was written in plain terms, mostly numbers, and the quartermaster had helped with anything he couldn’t understand. The basilisk would be carrying the better part of an entire campsite on its back, but it looked like they were carrying much more equipment than would be needed for three people, even with Arrel’s drakehounds.

“都弄好了？”蒂法莲芝突然出现在俄拉斯身后。他注意到现在她已经全副武装起来，那柄刻印了符文的长剑正背在身后，脚边放着一个帆布背包。

“Everything in order?” Tifalenji appeared behind Erath. He noticed she was fully armored now, with her rune-etched sword on her back and a canvas rucksack at her feet.

“他马上就可以整装待发，”军需官回答说，“大部分东西都装好了，只要再给你们配上水囊，就可以出发了。”

“We’re getting him squared away,” replied the quartermaster. “Most everything but the waterskins are loaded, we’ll be takin’ care of that next and you’ll be on your way.”

“很好，”符文工匠一边说着，一边抬头看太阳的高度，“我们要跟上运输队，从南门出城。赶在在日落之前上路。”

“Good,” said the runesmith, checking the height of the sun. “We’ll link with the caravans leaving out the south entrance. We need to be on the road and clear of the city before sunfall.”

“路？”俄拉斯疑惑了。自从他抵达都城以来，俄拉斯一直在看着诺克萨斯的部队和军团向码头行进，登上巨大的运兵船，其中也包含他们自己的部族。“难道我们不是和其他人一起坐船过海吗？”

“The road?” Erath asked. Ever since he arrived at the capital, Erath had watched the armies and warbands of Noxus, including his own tribe, march to embark on great troop ships at the docks. “We won’t be traveling with the others across the sea?”

符文工匠摇了摇头。“不，我们在陆地上还有任务。我们需要先把人找齐。”他们把乱中有序的都城抛在身后，不朽堡垒的剪影依然在天边高耸。俄拉斯、阿蕾尔和蒂法莲芝加入了一支巨大的行进队伍，向东方穿过诺克萨斯南部大草原。行进的队伍如同一条巨大无比的蟒蛇，身披铁甲、背棘红旗，他们就随着这条巨蟒，蜿蜒行走在平旷的原野上。俄拉斯想起了自己的故乡，达拉莫平原。

The runesmith shook her head. “No, we aren’t finished on the mainland, yet. There’s still someone we need to find first.”They left the organized chaos of the capital behind. The towering silhouette of the Immortal Bastion lingered on the horizon as Erath, Arrel, and Tifalenji joined a massive procession of troops moving east across the southern steppe of Noxus. Like a gargantuan snake of red banners and dark iron they marched, traversing flat plains that reminded Erath of his home, back in Dalamor.

“我们人实在太多了，” 一天晚上扎营以后，俄拉斯在排队领军粮时，一位头发灰白的士官和他闲聊起来。“都城的码头很大，而且能昼夜不停地进出船只——他们也的确是昼夜不停。但依然不足以应付这样的总动员。”

“There’s just too many of us,” a grizzled line sergeant had told Erath, waiting in the ration line as they camped one night. “The capital’s docks are huge and they could run them day and night—and they are—and it still wouldn’t be enough for the full mobilization.”

“所以我们就往东走？俄拉斯问。”

“That’s why we are going east?” Erath asked.

那位士官咕哝一声，笑看着自己坑洼的铁盆里被盛满了浓汤，另配上一大块棕黑的硬面包。“那帮人都必须挤在湿冷的船舱里，跟老鼠作伴。而我们还能稍微活动活动腿脚，之后再分头登船跨海。”

The sergeant grunted, smiling at his beaten tin cup as it was filled with stew and a hunk of hard brown bread. “While the rest of them get to share a damp boat’s innards with some rats for company, we get to stretch our legs a bit before we split off to berths across the coast.”

“然后去哪？”俄拉斯也分到了自己的伙食，点头对炊事员致谢。“我们这么多人是要去哪？”

“And then where?” Erath nodded his thanks to the cook as he received his own portion. “Where are all of us going?”

“没人告诉你吗？”士官嘲弄地说，“我们要去艾欧尼亚，孩子。”

“Nobody’s told you?” the line sergeant scoffed. “We’re going to Ionia, boy.”

惊呆的俄拉斯停在原地，发麻的手指差点把伙食掉在地上。他摸向自己胸口，寻找他一直佩戴的坠饰。艾欧尼亚。

Erath stumbled to a halt, his food nearly falling from numb fingers. He felt for his chest, finding the lump of the pendant he wore. Ionia.

“你挡住后面的人了。”士官对他皱起眉。

“You’re holding up the line,” the sergeant frowned at him.

“上一次……”俄拉斯轻轻地说，“战争。帝国征走了我们部族里一半男丁上战场。”他抬头看向那位士官，“一个回来的都没有。”

“The last time…” Erath said quietly. “The war. The empire, they levied half the men of my tribe to go fight.” He looked up at the sergeant. “None of them came back.”

“听起来你要让他们血债血偿了啊。”士官拽下自己的衣领，露出一道难看的红疤，像闪电一样在他整片胸膛上蔓延。“魔法。我们许多人都有一笔账要算，小子，我们已经耐心等待了很久。现在是时候讨债了。”

“Sounds like you’re gonna get a chance to get some blood back.” The sergeant pulled the collar of his tunic down, revealing a wicked red scar that branched like lightning across his entire chest. “Magic. A lot of us got scores to settle over there, kid, and we’ve been patient. Now it’s time to collect.”

俄拉斯下意识地对士官微笑一下，然后失神地走回自己的位置，突然不再觉得饿了。

Erath offered the sergeant a thin smile he didn’t feel, and wandered back to his billet, suddenly not feeling hungry anymore.

行军一直在继续，气氛轻快，平静无事。一天天过去，不断有小段运输队脱离大部队，前往各自被指定的出发港口。俄拉斯依然觉得自己被同行的伙伴孤立，蒂法莲芝一直冷着个脸，阿蕾尔则戒心十足，于是他只好专心执行自己离开部族后接受的使命，悉心照料小队所辖的龙蜥。

The march continued on, brisk and uneventful. As the days went on, more segments of the battle train branched off, heading to ports they were assigned to deploy from. Erath continued to feel isolated from his companions, the runesmith Tifalenji aloof and Arrel hostile, so he focused instead on what he had been seconded from his tribe to do, and cared for the party’s hulking basilisk.

虽然这头龙蜥力大体壮，但都城里的军需官没有说错。俄拉斯发现他十分温顺，很愿意接受他的照料。俄拉斯希望阿蕾尔的亚龙犬也能变得像他一样，但他也知道不能太乐观。那群猎犬几乎一直都围绕在诺克萨斯部队周围警戒巡逻，对他们的老大百依百顺。

Despite the creature’s immense size and strength, the quartermaster back in the capital had been right. Erath found him docile and receptive to his care, something he hoped with time would extend to Arrel’s drakehounds, though he didn’t hang too much hope on that. The pack practically orbited the armored Noxian at all times, totally obedient to their alpha.

俄拉斯给那只龙蜥取名为塔尔兹。这个名字是曾伴着他长大的老牧羊犬的名字。那头笨重的龙蜥对这个新名字有反应，俄拉斯会唤着这个名字带他吃草，控制着他在运输队里的位置。经过一周的行军，那位符文工匠召集起小队三人，告诉他们大部队会继续向东，而他们则将沿另一条路向南进发。

Erath had taken to calling the basilisk Talz, the name of his old herding dog when he had been a boy. The lumbering saurian responded to his new name as Erath led him to graze and kept him in line with the convoy.A week into their journey, the runesmith gathered the party, announcing that while the main body was continuing east, they would be taking their own path down a southern branch.

“我们要去血崖。”蒂法莲芝说道。俄拉斯看着运输队渐渐消失在远方，他们的背影依然是坚不可摧的诺克萨斯士兵纵队，向着海岸行军。

“We make for the Bloodcliffs,” said Tifalenji, as Erath watched the convoy slowly shrink in the distance, still an unbroken column of Noxian warriors marching to the coast.

“血崖有什么东西？”他问道。

“What’s there?” he asked.

“不是东西，”符文工匠答到，“是人。”

“Not what,” answered the runesmith, “but who.”

俄拉斯点了点头，回想起蒂法莲芝之前就曾提到过要找人。他回头看了看塔尔兹后背上的多余补给。“那是什么人呢？”

Erath nodded, remembering Tifalenji had mentioned someone else before. He looked back at the extra supplies loaded onto Talz’s back. “Who is it?”

“就是个自以为是的囔瓜。”阿蕾尔不屑地说着，一边把窄口瓶里的水倒在手掌窝里，让几条猎犬喝水。听见流水的声音，老大的耳朵立刻竖了起来。俄拉斯虽然没见识过，但也可以猜出它的心情。阿蕾尔冷笑着对蒂法莲芝说，“我们在浪费时间，我们根本不需要她。”

“A haughty k’naad,” scoffed Arrel, pouring water from a flask into her palm to allow her hounds to drink. First’s ears perked up at the word, which Erath didn’t know but could guess as to its meaning. Arrel sneered at Tifalenji. “We are wasting our time, we don’t need her.”

“需不需要，我来决定。”符文工匠平静地说。她瞥了一眼俄拉斯，然后微微叹了口气。“她名叫马莉特，是个剑僮。”

“I’ll be the reckoner of that,” the runesmith replied flatly. She glanced at Erath, and sighed through her teeth. “Her name is Marit, blade squire.”

“马莉特最不厌其烦的，就是提醒身边每一个能听见的人，她在革命之前曾是贵族。”阿蕾尔愤愤地说，“她的家族被抄了房产、废了地位，但她跟人说话的时候，就好像一切都没发生似的。”

“Marit’s quite keen on reminding anyone within earshot that she was of the nobility before the revolution,” grumbled Arrel. “They stripped her family of their estate and power, though she hardly seems to realize that from talking to her.”

阿蕾尔扫视周围。“她总是没完没了地说着自己家族曾经的封地有多了不起。”她摇了摇头。“真是个杂种。”

Arrel scanned the landscape. “She went on and on about these wondrous lands her family held.” She shook her head. “What a shithole.”

“她是一名精锐，”蒂法莲芝接着说，“经验丰富，受过战斗洗礼。她将是一份宝贵的力量，此事的讨论到此为止。”通往血崖的道路穿过了干旱的平原和低矮的丘陵。阳光炙烤的高温对于俄拉斯来说是一种新鲜的感受，因为达拉莫平原上始终铺着一层凉爽的薄雾。他开始小心管理淡水的配给，准备在这万里无云、烈日当空的平原上持久行军。

“She is an elite soldier,” countered Tifalenji. “Experienced and battle-tested. She will be an asset, and that is the end of this conversation.”The road to the Bloodcliffs cut through arid plains and low, sunbaked hills. The heat was a new experience for Erath, far from the fog-blanketed chill of Dalamor. He took care to ration what water they had as they traveled beneath the glaring sun in a cloudless, blisteringly blue sky.

阿蕾尔突然停下脚步。俄拉斯拍了拍塔尔兹的侧身，让他停下，然后观察这位追猎手的奇怪动作。她半跪在地，将一只手掌紧贴地面。“有动静，就在附近。”

Arrel paused, and Erath patted Talz’s flank to bring him to a halt as he watched the tracker. She knelt, pressing a palm to the earth. “Something’s close.”

符文工匠爬上了塔尔兹的后背，从腰间抽出一个望远镜，将黄铜的铁管伸长，透过望远镜看过去。“前方有骑手。”她确认了阿蕾尔的信息。“而且不是诺克萨斯人。”

From atop Talz’s back, the runesmith drew a spyglass from her belt, extending the brass tube and looking through it. “Riders ahead,” she confirmed. “And they aren’t Noxian.”

俄拉斯也向前望去，他只看到了两个小小的影子站在丘陵顶端，只能依稀辨认出是骑在马背上的两人。他心跳加速，手落到腰间短弯刀的皮革刀柄上。上路这么久，日复一日的单调过后，一场打破无聊的遭遇战正是求之不得的。

Erath looked, seeing two tiny figures as they crested the top of a hill. He was just able to make out that they were on horseback. His pulse quickened, and his hand fell to the leather-wound haft of the short falchion at his hip. After so long on the road, day after day of monotony, the prospect of a skirmish was refreshingly welcome.

“老二，老三。”阿蕾尔发出命令，两条亚龙犬向前一跃而出。

“Second, Third,” Arrel called, and the two drakehounds leapt forward.

“等等，”蒂法莲芝望向他们后方，“还有。”

“Wait,” said Tifalenji, now looking behind them. “There’s more.”

俄拉斯转过身，看到身后出现了更多人影，然后是左右两侧。他依稀听见一声尖锐的号角，然后他们就顺着丘陵的下坡冲了过来。

Erath turned, seeing more figures appear behind them, and then to either side. He barely heard the sharp note of a horn, as they descended the hills toward them.

“强盗，”蒂法莲芝抽出背后的符文长剑，“围成一圈，快。”

“Raiders,” Tifalenji drew the runesword on her back. “Form a circle, now.”

地面开始颤抖，起初很轻，但随着骑兵的接近逐渐变成低沉的雷霆。俄拉斯转身查看塔尔兹，想要找法子把他固定住，防止他受惊乱跑，但这时蒂法莲芝一巴掌劈在了俄拉斯的脑袋上，吓得他一缩。

The ground began to shake, soft at first but steadily climbing to thunder as the horsemen charged. Erath turned to Talz, trying to find some means to root him to the ground in case the basilisk panicked, and recoiled as Tifalenji struck him across the head.

“专心！”她低声吼道。

“Focus!” she hissed.

俄拉斯不再去管塔尔兹，而是抽出弯刀紧紧握在手里。他与阿蕾尔和符文工匠保持着距离，要守好由他面对的外环的三分之一。那群强盗现在已经清晰可见。他们身着轻甲，披着斗篷，带有棘刺的长矛顶端挂着青色的旗帜。

Erath forgot Talz, pulling his falchion and gripping it tightly. He distanced himself from Arrel and the runesmith, trying to cover his third of the tiny perimeter they made. The raiders were in full view now, lightly armored with billowing cloaks and teal banners streaming from the tips of barbed lances.

三个诺克萨斯士兵已经做好了迎接冲锋的准备。蒂法莲芝的剑刃射出翠绿的火光。阿蕾尔的猎犬仰天长啸。

The Noxians braced for the charge. Emerald fire lit the runes along Tifalenji’s blade. Arrel’s hounds howled.

就在交锋前的最后一秒，骑兵们突然向两侧分开，保持距离绕着他们转圈。铁蹄卷起灰尘形成一道厚重的烟幕，将他们与世界隔开。俄拉斯只能在烟雾中依稀辨认出人影。

At the last second, the horses peeled to either side, sprinting in a circle around them. The dust kicked up by their iron-shod hooves grew into a thick, whirling curtain, rising to cut them off from the world. Erath could just barely make out the silhouettes whipping around them.

嗖的一声，俄拉斯向侧面一跃，一根长枪扎在他刚刚站的地方。他听见阿蕾尔发出一声指令，一条亚龙犬冲进了烟幕。蒂法莲芝开始咏唱，每个字都在刺痛俄拉斯的耳朵。绿色的蠕虫开始她的剑刃上扭动、发光。

The air whistled and Erath leapt to one side as a lance embedded itself where he’d just been standing. He heard Arrel bark a command and one of her hounds leapt into the dust. Tifalenji began chanting, the words hurting Erath’s ears as worms of green light shivered across her blade.

“赛-拉-戴奇！”她大吼一声，挥动剑刃，一道翠绿的光芒射入烟幕。

“Say-RAH-dech!” she roared, slashing with her blade and sending a wave of jade lightning through the wall.

俄拉斯不知道她是否击中，也不知道阿蕾尔的猎犬是否还活着。一切都乱作一团。噪声。一声恸哭撕裂了空气。就连包围他们的这股旋风也颤抖了。俄拉斯听到什么东西被撕开，他向后跳，烟幕里喷出一股暗红色的血，湿热的感觉打在他的脸上和前胸。

Erath couldn’t tell if she hit anything. If Arrel’s hound was still alive. Everything was chaos. Noise. A keening wail split the air. The cyclone caging them shuddered. Erath heard something rip, and leapt back as a jet of dark blood burst from the wall of dust, coating his face and chest with hot crimson.

他呆呆地站着。上手帮忙啊，你个笨蛋。

He stood there. Help them, you idiot.

尘埃开始散落，俄拉斯鼓起了勇气。他看准了正前方的一个人影，弯刀高高举起，口中喊出部族的誓死战吼。他冲入烟幕，沙尘打在身上如面针毡，当他睁开双眼定睛一看，却发现面前站着的并不是马。

The dust began to settle, and Erath summoned his courage. He focused on a shadow directly ahead of him and charged with falchion raised and the death cry of his tribe on his lips. He sprinted through the stinging grit, and as he opened his eyes he found what stood before him was no horse.

无论它是什么动物，骑在它背上的人瞬间就将剑戟对准了他的咽喉。

Whatever it was, its rider had a glaive at his throat in an instant.

“瞧瞧，”一个圆润、高雅的声音传来，“我的爱驹今天已经饱足，但她或许还可以再吃一个。”

“Now, now,” came a voice, smooth and cultured. “My dear steed feasted well today but she may yet have room for more.”

长戟的尖端挑起了俄拉斯的下巴。他沿着握柄看向说话的人。她是一名瘦高的女子，脸上带着钢铁和黑皮的面甲。她的长戟上挂着诺克萨斯的旗帜，不过还有第二面俄拉斯不认识的挂旗，虽然残破，但是被她像斗篷一样披在肩上。

The speartip lifted Erath’s jaw, and he followed it up to the speaker. She was a tall, thin woman, her face hidden behind a mask of iron and black leather. A Noxian banner hung from her glaive, while a second tattered standard Erath didn’t recognize was gathered around her shoulders like a cloak.

她自信地跨坐在一头轻盈敏捷的二足生物上，那东西肌肉线条优美，尾巴犹如长鞭，外形似乎介于蜥蜴与鸟类之间。它面容凶猛，露出滴血的长牙。现在周围已经尘埃落定，强盗们尸横遍地，每个强盗都被不同程度地肢解。

She rode confidently upon a lithe, bipedal creature, all sleek muscle and lashing tail, somewhere between a lizard and a bird. Its vicious visage bared its blood-stained fangs in challenge. The dust had cleared now, revealing the dead raiders around them in various states of dismemberment.

俄拉斯感受到面具之后射来的目光，正在仔细研究他。她饶有兴致地眯着眼睛，放下剑戟，对准一个死去的强盗，手腕轻轻一抖，砍下了他的旗帜。这时俄拉斯才看清，她的坐骑身上挂满了各种强盗的旗帜，此时蒂法莲芝和阿蕾尔也靠了过来。

Erath felt the penetrating gaze from behind the mask, studying him. Her eyes narrowed in amusement as she dipped her glaive to a dead raider, cutting his banner free with a flick of her wrist. Only then did he see the others dangling from her mount as Tifalenji and Arrel approached.

“阿蕾尔，你这个冷囔瓜！”那个诺克萨斯骑兵高呼着，自信地走到她们面前。“他们从哪把你挖出来的？上次听说你的消息，你还在祖安的臭水沟里挣悬赏呢。”她夸张地颤抖了一下。“那座城市就和缺了牙似的。丑恶至极！”

“Arrel, you icy k’naad!” the Noxian exclaimed, striding out confidently to meet the party. “Where did they dig you out of? Last I heard you were hunting bounties in that wretched stink-pit Zaun.” She shivered theatrically. “Like missing teeth, that city. Hideous!”

“马莉特。”阿蕾尔平淡地说。俄拉斯斜眼看向那位猎手。即便是按照阿蕾尔一贯的作风来说，这个招呼打得也十分冰冷，他发现她那双灰钢般的眼睛中透着不一样的东西。

“Marit,” Arrel said flatly. Erath glanced at the tracker. Even for Arrel, the greeting seemed cold, and he saw something different in the steel grey of her eyes.

“你们这位朋友又是谁？”马莉特看着俄拉斯和蒂法莲芝说，“依我看，你们肯定不是碰巧路过吧。”

“And who are your friends here?” Marit regarded Erath and Tifalenji. “I find it hard to believe you would just happen to be passing through.”

“尊安。”蒂法莲芝颔首致意。“你的直觉很准。我们奉帝国之命前来。这是我们带来的军令。”

“Hail,” said Tifalenji, dipping her head in greeting. “Your instincts are true enough. We come in the empire’s service. Our mandate.”

符文工匠递给马莉特一个卷轴。戴着面甲的女子将卷轴打开，一双黑色的眼睛逐行扫视，时不时抬起来打量一下蒂法莲芝。

The runesmith handed Marit a scroll. The masked woman unfurled it, her dark eyes flicking up to regard Tifalenji several times as she read it.

“违者处以死刑，”马莉特拿腔拿调地读出来，然后将卷轴递回给蒂法莲芝。“看来一切都安排好了。我们何时出发？”

“Under penalty of death,” Marit read dramatically, before handing the scroll back to Tifalenji. “Well this all seems to be in order. When do we leave?”

“马上。”蒂法莲芝说。

“Now,” answered Tifalenji.

“好吧。”蒂法莲芝看了一眼俄拉斯。“男仆哈？”

“Fair enough,” Marit eyed Erath. “manservant, eh?”

他犹豫了一下，“呃，我是剑僮——”

He hesitated. “Uh, I’m a blade squi—”

“你可以称呼我为‘女士’，男仆。”马莉特示意了一下她的坐骑。“这是我的爱驹，来自俄洛冈底斯的亨丽埃塔·伊丽莎·维斯帕先四世。”她看着俄拉斯，眼睛眯成一道缝。“不过看样子你天生愚钝，所以我准你叫她亨丽埃塔。”

“You may address me as ‘my lady,’ manservant,” Marit gestured to her mount. “And this is my glorious steed, the Lady Henrietta Eliza Vaspaysian IV of Orogonthis.” She looked at Erath, narrowing her eyes. “But you do appear quite stupid, so I suppose just Henrietta will suffice.”

亨丽埃塔对着俄拉斯的方向摆了摆长脖子，从尖牙利齿间喷出一道咄咄逼人的气息。

Henrietta swung her long, muscled neck in Erath’s direction, breathing out a chittering hiss through her gleaming fangs.

“她吃什么？”俄拉斯问。

“What does she eat?” asked Erath.

“惹我生气的人。”马莉特说着，扭头走向自己的大帐。“悉心照料她，小伙子。另外，非礼勿言。”

“People who get on my nerves,” said Marit as she turned away toward her pavilion. “Tend to her ends, little man, and speak when spoken to.”

俄拉斯刚要张嘴答话，当亨丽埃塔又呲出一口气，于是他咽下了自己的愤怒。

Erath opened his mouth to reply, but Henrietta hissed again, and he bit down on his anger.

他们齐心协力，迅速将马莉特的营帐收起，装到塔尔兹背上。龙蜥轻易地扛起了新的负重，似乎根本就没注意到重量增加。俄拉斯开始理解一头成年龙蜥是如何攻城的了。

Together they worked quickly, striking Marit’s camp and loading it onto Talz. The basilisk bore the weight easily, as though he didn’t even notice the added burden. Erath was beginning to understand how a fully grown one could level fortifications.

“准备好出发了吗？”符文工匠问。

“Is everything ready to move?” asked the runesmith.

俄拉斯点点头，于是她下令开拔。马莉特跨上亨丽埃塔光亮的皮鞍座，将诺克萨斯的旗帜固定在戟上，再把第二面挂旗像披风一样围在脖子后。

Erath nodded, and she signaled for them to move. Marit leapt up into a polished leather saddle on Henrietta’s back, binding the Noxian banner to her glaive and the second standard around her neck like a cloak.

“走吧，塔尔兹！”俄拉斯赶起正在饮水吃草的龙蜥。

“Come on then, Talz!” Erath called, urging the basilisk from where it drank and munched on the soft grasses of the watering ground.

马莉特把头扭向一边。“等一下，他还给我们的驮兽取名字了？”

Marit cocked her head to one side. “Wait, he named our pack animal?”

“是的。”阿蕾尔说。

“He did,” said Arrel.

马莉特嘲弄地说，“好吧，等到我们不得不把它杀了吃肉的时候，或许可以用这傻瓜的眼泪当做腌肉的佐料。”

Marit scoffed. “Well, I suppose we can use the idiot’s tears to season the meat when we have to eat it on the trail.”

“那群骑兵，”蒂法莲芝说着，向刚才他们消失的天边努努嘴。

“Those riders,” said Tifalenji, nodding in the direction where she had watched them vanish over the horizon.

“嗯？”蒂法莲芝从坐骑上附身，“他们怎么了？”

“Yes?” Marit leaned down from her saddle. “What about them?”

“你就不怕他们趁你不在的时候当回强盗吗？”

“Aren’t you concerned they’ll simply go back to raiding in your absence?”

马莉特摆了摆手。“荒唐。这是我的祖先留下的土地。如果他们安分守己则没问题，如若不然，我回来以后就把他们杀光。老是发愁，会长皱纹的。”他们自血崖出发又走了几天。符文工匠带领着小队轻快地行进，小队成员在路上轮流睡觉，只有在绝对必要的时候才停下来。俄拉斯每晚都在观察她，无论是在路上还是在营地里，她总是独自远离其他人，望着头顶的月亮。

Marit waved her hand. “Nonsense. These are my ancestral lands. If they choose to be good stewards of them then fine, and if they don’t, I’ll just kill them all when I return. Worry gives you frown-lines.”A few days’ ride took them from the Bloodcliffs. The runesmith kept their pace brisk, having the party sleep in shifts along the trail and only stopping when absolutely necessary. Erath saw her each night, either on the road or at camp, sitting apart from the others with her eyes intent upon the moon.

他们向东方迂回，绕过一座座小山，最后在一天黎明时分来到了龙门，这里是他们被指派的港口。俄拉斯发现这里和其他港口都一样繁忙，一样乱中有序。军队的动员似乎覆盖了诺克萨斯东面的全部海岸。成千上万名战士，还有保障军队后勤的无数名铸甲工、炊事员、建筑工、修补匠、牧师和铁匠。所有人都在登上巨大的运兵船，准备张开猩红的风帆，伸出坚韧的木桨，开始跨海的航程。

They skirted east across the base of low mountains before arriving at their port of call at the Drakkengate, at the first light of dawn. Erath found the docks there to be just as bustling as any other, mired in the same organized chaos of armed mobilization that seemed to be taking place over the entire eastern coast of Noxus. Thousands of warriors, and the countless armorers, cooks, builders, menders, priests, and forge-smiths that attended to them, filed into the holds of great troop ships, ready to unfurl immense crimson sails and dip their oars for the voyage across the sea.

俄拉斯抵达后就立刻开始筹备补给。虽然船上早已为士兵和普通的动物准备了渡海期间的粮草，但他们的小队里聚集了好几种奇异的生物，现在都要由他负责。俄拉斯很幸运，符文工匠身上携带的军令帮他们快速通过了许多停滞的长队，还压过了许多不通人情的军需官。还没到中午，他们就已经准备好登船了。

Erath set about hunting down supplies as soon as they arrived. While the ships were already provisioned for soldiers and more common animals for the crossing, their party had accumulated a variety of exotic creatures he was now responsible for. Luckily for Erath, the mandate the runesmith carried granted them swift passage through the congested queues and overruled any of the more obstinate quartermasters. Before midday, they were ready to board.

“在那儿，”蒂法莲芝指向码头的方向，“那就是我们的船。亚托尼亚德号。”

“There,” Tifalenji pointed toward the docks. “That is our ship. The Atoniad.”

俄拉斯望向那艘船。亚托尼亚德号是一艘绝不会被认错的诺克萨斯运兵舰，线条硬朗，捆扎牢固的红帆上镶着黑铁，渴望着乘风破浪。他这辈子上过的最大的船，是他随部族一起前往不朽堡垒时的渡河帆船，而拿它和亚托尼亚德号相比，简直就像是牙签对战斧。

Erath’s eyes fell upon the vessel. The Atoniad was a troop carrier of unmistakably Noxian design, from its strong lines and dark iron plating to the tightly bound red sails, eager to be unleashed and carry the ship forward onto the waves. The largest boat he had ever embarked upon was the river skiff that had borne his tribe to the Immortal Bastion, and comparing that to the Atoniad was like comparing a toothpick to a battle axe.

许多人正在登船，有男有女，形形色色，挤满了登船的踏板。其他更加宽大厚实的坡道则用来装运动物和货箱，里面有各类工具、石材和木料。

Lines of men and women were already boarding, filing up gangplanks, while other wider ramps admitted animals and pallets of tools, stone, and lumber.

“看着没多少士兵啊。”俄拉斯说。

“I don’t see many soldiers,” said Erath.

“和我们同行的大多是劳工和石匠，”蒂法莲芝说，“亚托尼亚德号的目的地是斐洛尔，并不是主岛。”

“We’ll be traveling with mostly laborers and stonemasons,” said Tifalenji. “The Atoniad is bound for Fae’lor, not the main islands.”

“斐洛尔？”俄拉斯瞄了一眼符文工匠，“这么说，我们要去大要塞？”

“Fae’lor?” Erath glanced at the runesmith. “We go to the great fortress, then?”

“的废墟。”阿蕾尔喃喃地说。

“What’s left of it,” muttered Arrel.

斐洛尔的悲惨故事也传到了达拉莫。俄拉斯和部族全体聚在火堆旁，听萨满讲述斐洛尔发生的事。据说一群艾欧尼亚的懦夫偷袭了那里的诺克萨斯要塞。走投无路的他们，释放了自己无法控制的魔法，对防御工事造成了可怕的破坏。

Word had reached as far as Dalamor of the tragedy at Fae’lor. Erath had gathered with the tribe around a fire as the shamans relayed how a cowardly band of Ionians had assaulted the Noxian fortress there. In their desperation, they had unleashed magic that was beyond their power to control, wrecking horrific damage to the defenses, there.

两周之后，他们的部族就收到了召唤，让他们带着长矛赶赴都城。

A fortnight later, the tribe had received the call to carry their spears to the capital.

带上所有的长矛。

All of their spears.

“我们该登船了，”蒂法莲芝说着，指了指较宽的登船口，“你带着动物们登船，剑僮。”

“We embark,” said Tifalenji. She pointed to the wider access points. “Take the beasts and get them aboard, blade squire.”

俄拉斯点了一下头，看着阿蕾尔说，“猎犬也由我来带吗？”

Erath dipped his head, looking over at Arrel. “Shall I take the hounds as well?”

四只亚龙犬全都对着俄拉斯怒目而视。不知如何，它们在同一时间用同一个音调对他怒嚎。简直是犬牙利齿的合唱团。

All four drakehounds glared at Erath. They somehow managed to snarl at him in the exact same pitch, at the exact same time. A chorus of angry jaws.

“它们和我一起。”阿蕾尔打了个响指，猎犬们立刻安静。

“They will remain with me,” Arrel snapped a finger and the pack fell silent.

俄拉斯收起塔尔兹的缰绳。马莉特把亨丽埃塔的缰绳交给他，最后抚摸一下了她的下颌。

Erath gathered up the reins for Talz. Marit handed over the reins to Henrietta, favoring her steed with a final caress down her jawline.

“务必让这位好姑娘自己一个单间，”马莉特对着正在牵着动物登船的俄拉斯说，“如果你把别的动物放进去，她很快就会给自己清出一个单间。”海上的空气冰冷，挟着咸涩的盐星。十二条船与亚托尼亚德号组成舰队同行。红帆揽着强风，暂时解脱了甲板下方的桨手。船上，百无聊赖的水手们开始传闲话，说他们前一夜穿过了海盗的航路，不过谁都不会觉得会有哪个海盗傻得敢找十多条帝国战舰碰运气，要知道每条船上从艏到艉都乘满了杀气腾腾的士兵。

“Make sure the good lady has her own accommodations,” called Marit as Erath led the beasts toward the ship. “If you put anything else in with her, she’ll be alone soon enough.”The open air was cold, and sharp with salt spray. Twelve other ships sailed beside the Atoniad in the squadron, their red sails full and taut with a generous wind that at least for now handled the duty of the oarsmen below decks. Gossip aboard amongst bored soldiers had spread the rumor that they had passed through pirate routes at some point the previous night, though few of them could imagine any corsair fool enough to try their luck against a dozen Imperial warships packed from bow to stern with war-edgy killers.

俄拉斯的目光离开舰队，阿蕾尔正向他走来。他刚要行礼，突然想起来出了都城以后就免礼了。阿蕾尔没有在乎他的尴尬。她低下头扫一眼，看到这个孩子正在紧紧抓住栏杆。“你第一次跨海？”

Erath turned from looking out across the squadron as Arrel approached, nearly saluting before remembering he had been told not to. Arrel ignored the awkwardness. She glanced down, noting how tightly the boy held on to the railing. “Your first passage?”

剑僮点点头。“航行了三天，他们说还有三天，然后才到斐洛尔。”他向着灰白的波涛伸出一只手，无尽的海面一直延伸到天边，唯一能够打破单调的是相邻的舰群。“我从没想到过能有这么多水。”

The blade squire nodded. “Three days at sea, and still another three, they say, until we get to Fae’lor.” He waved a hand at the endless span of churning grey waves stretching all the way to the horizon, broken only by the salt-shrouded shapes of the other warships. “I never thought there could be this much water.”

阿蕾尔吭了一声，态度令人捉摸不透。

Arrel grunted, noncommittal.

“你上过战场，”俄拉斯对这个话题感到有些不安，“艾欧尼亚，是什么样的？”

“You were in the war before,” Erath said, uneasy with the subject. “Ionia, what is it like?”

阿蕾尔并没有立刻回答他。这位追猎手望向大海，伸手抚摸着第二只猎犬光滑的厚皮。她慢慢喘了口气。“那是美丽的土地，死亡的土地。”

Arrel did not answer him at once. The tracker stared out over the ocean, reaching down to scratch the sleek, leathery skin behind Second’s bony crestmask. She breathed slowly. “It is a place of beauty, and of death.”

“整个艾欧尼亚不过就是一头巨大的丛林锋喙鸟，还被砍了脑袋。”马莉特从他们身后出现，大步向前走，倚在栏杆上。“我们上一次砍掉了它的头，现在它只是在胡抓乱挠、盲目挣扎，不肯承认自己已经死了。”

“All of Ionia is just one giant jungle raptor with its head cut off,” Marit appeared from behind them, strutting forward to lounge against the railing. “We decapitated it last time, and now it’s just thrashing about, making a mess, too stupid to realize it’s already dead.”

“我猎过锋喙鸟，”阿蕾尔说，“即使没了脑袋，它们也能把你的肠子掏出来。”

“I’ve hunted raptors,” said Arrel. “And even headless they can still gut you.”

“所以就要打仗咯？”俄拉斯问，“再跟艾欧尼亚打一场？”

“So it is war, then?” asked Erath. “Another war with Ionia?”

马莉特耸耸肩，“我哪知道，但统领大人的确是往海的这边送了许多人手，肯定不是来炫耀军威的。现在只希望他有足够的骨气，让我们善始善终，这次彻底一点。”

Marit shrugged. “Damned if I know, but the Grand General sure shoved a lot of boots across the ocean just to rattle swords. Just hope he has enough backbone to let us finish what we start, this time.”

阿蕾尔走开了，俄拉斯又看向深不可测的波浪，“这片海叫什么名字？”他问。

Arrel walked away, and Erath looked back at the fathomless expanse of gently crashing waves. “What is the name of this ocean?” he asked.

“谁在乎它叫什么名字？”马莉特拄了一下俄拉斯的肩膀，然后也走开了。“反正它是我们的。”俄拉斯从未如此对干燥的陆地充满感激。

“Who cares what it’s called?” Marit leaned over Erath’s shoulder before she stalked off. “It’s ours.”Erath had never been so grateful to see dry land.

斐洛尔要塞出现在前方的天边，渐渐变大变清晰。亚托尼亚德号一直在全速航行，但俄拉斯现在知道，他完全不适合在海上生活。战舰一直在慢悠悠地晃荡，让他把许多顿刚刚吃进肚的饭菜献给了大海。突如其来的眩晕总是催他吐出贡品。一切都浸透了海水，干涸以后裹着的一层盐壳烧得他肉皮发疼。

The fortress of Fae’lor grew in size and definition on the horizon before them. The Atoniad had made speed in her voyage to the island, but Erath had discovered he was far from suited for a life on the seas. The heaving, rolling motion of their warship had stolen many meals from his stomach, offered to the ocean in the queasy tribute of abrupt sickness. Everything was soaked, coated in a crackling crust of salt that burned his skin.

他多数时间都呆在甲板下面，照料自己负责的动物，让他们尽量舒适地度过航程。塔尔兹看起来没问题，吃饭定时，大多数时间都在圈里睡觉。亨丽埃塔小姐则比较费心。作为敏捷好动的异兽，马莉特的坐骑显然对船上的狭小空间大为不满。俄拉斯在投喂她的时候总要格外小心，以免自己变成她的口粮。他非常期待能够让亨丽埃塔下船舒展一下双腿。

He had kept below decks for the most part, ensuring that the creatures in his care endured the passage with as much comfort as he was able to offer. Talz seemed fine, eating regularly and spending the majority of the time in his pen, sleeping. Lady Henrietta, however, had required more diligent attention. A nimble and energetic beast, Marit’s steed was clearly unhappy with the confines of the ship. Erath took extra care during her feedings, to ensure he did not become the meal himself, and looked forward to getting Henrietta off the Atoniad where she could stretch her legs.

当船艏的侦查员报告发现陆地的时候，俄拉斯立刻跑到了甲板上。船上人头攒动，大家都想一睹为快。最初只是遥远的小黑点，在海天交接之处模糊不清，但随着他们逐渐靠近，那片陆地也逐渐聚焦。俄拉斯看到沿岸似乎裹着成团的雾气，远远看去是棕黑色的，来到眼前才发现是红色。

When the call for land had gone out from the scouts at the ship’s bow, Erath hurried above decks to see. The top deck was crowded with Noxians eager for their own view. At first it was little more than a smudge in the distance, faintly more defined than the hazy stripe where the water met the sky, but the closer they came, the more distinct it grew. Erath glimpsed what appeared to be banks of fog surrounding the island, tinted a ruddy brown that upon closer inspection became red.

斐洛尔已经被诺克萨斯的船只包围。

Fae’lor was surrounded by Noxian ships.

小岛周围环绕着一层层舰船，那是漂浮于海面之上的防御哨戒。亚托尼亚德号被最外侧的巡逻船拦下，两艘小型护卫舰靠上来，抛过登船的绳钩，随后一群水兵来到船上。

There were concentric circles of vessels ringing the island, defense pickets that were constantly shifting. The Atoniad was halted by the outermost patrols, a pair of frigates that lashed themselves to the larger vessel with boarding hooks as squads of naval soldiers came aboard.

俄拉斯注意到他们在检查运兵船的时候表情严峻，始终手握武器，照着船长的军令和载货单仔细查看。他们搜遍了每一层甲板，剑僮还看到三名穿着长袍的血法师仔细查看船上的每一名士兵，轻柔地咏唱着什么咒语，逐个检查每个人的双眼，不分男女长幼。

Erath noted their stern countenances as they inspected the troop ship, weapons in hand as they pored over the captain’s mandate and manifest. They scoured every deck, and the blade squire watched as a trio of robed blood mages studied every soldier onboard, softly chanting as they looked every man and woman in the eye.

“他们在找什么，夫人？”他问蒂法莲芝。

“What are they looking for, mistress?” he asked Tifalenji.

“密谋的迹象。”符文工匠回答说，“欺骗。不受约束的魔法。”

“Signs of subterfuge,” replied the runesmith. “Deceptions. Wild magic.”

在俄拉斯看来，一切都显得非常奇怪。“但我们都是诺克萨斯士兵，乘着帝国的舰船前来。这有点担心过度了吧？”

To Erath it all seemed strange. “But we are all Noxian soldiers, on an imperial ship. Does this not seem paranoid?”

“耐心，小子，”蒂法莲芝说，“等我们在斐洛尔靠岸以后你就明白了。”

“Patience, boy,” said Tifalenji. “When we dock at Fae’lor, you will understand.”

他们搜遍了亚托尼亚德号的每一寸，最后留下一支代表团，其余的士兵回到各自的护卫舰上，然后这艘船被放行进入下一道封锁线。每过一个检查站，就会重复一遍查验。每次亚托尼亚德号停船，检查的负责人都会轮换。俄拉斯被没完没了地戳来点去，翻来覆去，等到他们最后看到港口的时候，他已经开始怀疑自己是不是不被任何战友信任，甚至不被任何人信任。

After they had been over every inch of the Atoniad, a contingent of the soldiery remained aboard while the others returned to their frigate, and the ship was cleared to advance to the next ring of the blockade. The inspections and checks repeated with each checkpoint, the guard detail rotating each time the Atoniad was stopped. Erath had been poked, prodded, and scrutinized so many times that when they finally had the harbor in sight, he questioned whether any of his own comrades trusted him, or anyone for that matter.

然后他看清了斐洛尔，于是明白了为什么。

And then he got a better look at Fae’lor, and understood why.

这座要塞被彻底开膛破肚。他只能大概猜测城墙曾经的模样，原本滴水不漏的防御工事已经土崩瓦解，如今留在地上的东西就像一堆焦黑、破损的牙齿。破坏的范围不仅仅是城墙和塔楼，整座岛屿本身也已遭到瓦解、撕裂、切割，就像是遭遇了某种罕见的自然灾害。

The fortress had been gutted. He could make out only echoes of the great ramparts that had once stood at its heart, the formerly impregnable fortifications reduced to shattered remnants that rose from the ground like blackened, broken teeth. But the extent of the devastation went far beyond the walls and towers. The very land itself was broken open, torn apart and ripped out, bearing all the hallmarks of some incredible natural disaster.

亚托尼亚德号被牵进了泊位。刚一停稳，一些诺克萨斯人直接跳下去，分别在甲板和码头上一起开工。工匠跑到自己被分派的岗位，原材料和补给品被运下船搬上岸。俄拉斯回到下层甲板，努力忘记刚刚受到的冲击，带着塔尔兹和亨丽埃塔下船。

The Atoniad drew up to her berth, and Noxians leapt to work both aboard and on the dock as soon as she came to a halt. Craftsmen rushed out to their assigned posts, while raw materials and supplies were offloaded and taken ashore. Erath went below decks, trying to put the shock of the island from his mind as he went about getting Talz and Henrietta off the Atoniad.

在大群牲畜和普通驮兽的拥挤队列中，俄拉斯牵着自己看管的两头异兽走出船舱，踏上斜板。他排在队伍中等待着，前方的入城手续是进入斐洛尔的最后一个环节。他出神地望着人们钻进另一艘战舰的残骸，就像一群热火朝天的蚂蚁。

Standing out against the herds of livestock and more mundane pack animals, Erath led his beasts up a wide ramp leading from the ship’s hold. Waiting as those ahead of him were processed and allowed into Fae’lor, he stood transfixed as he watched crews descend over the wreckage of another warship like a swarm of furious ants.

巨大的绞盘与铁链把那艘船的残骸一截一截地拉出水面。许多支队伍七手八脚地进入船舱，拖出溺亡者苍白浮肿的残骸。那艘船的吨位足有亚托尼亚德号的两倍，而船体被一分为二，就像一棍子打在了人的膝盖上。

Great winches and chains hauled the wreck up out of the water, a piece at a time. Teams scrambled down within, pulling out the pale, bloated shapes of the fallen in droves. She was more than twice the tonnage of the Atoniad, and her hull had been broken in two, like a stick over a man’s knee.

是什么样的力量才能做到这种事？

What kind of power could have possibly done such a thing?

俄拉斯回想起他站在不朽堡垒阴影下的时候。他看见的是一个迈向战场的帝国，感受到斩钉截铁的坚定。他觉得这世上没有任何东西能够阻挡。

Erath thought back to when he stood in the shadow of the Immortal Bastion. The certainty he felt there, seeing the empire marching to war, that there was nothing in creation that could possibly stand against them.

但现在，亲眼看到斐洛尔陷落后的场面，他心里开始产生怀疑。

For the first time, seeing what had befallen Fae’lor with his own eyes, he felt doubt creep into his heart.

他终于走下了斜板，从湿哒哒的木头踏上了碎渣的石路。空气潮湿、厚重、灰蒙。有一种辛辣的味道，俄拉斯无法辨认，于是他意识到，经过漫长的旅程，自己终于来到了那里。

Finally he reached the end of the ramp, stepping from soaked wood onto cracked rock. The air was thick, humid, and dusty. It smelled of spice, things Erath couldn’t place as he realized, at long last, that he was there.

这就是艾欧尼亚。

This was Ionia.

俄拉斯不记得自己站了多久，也没有注意到亨丽埃塔的缰绳从指间溜走。等他看到的时候，马莉特的坐骑已经跳进了营地。

Erath lost track of how long he was standing there, or how the leather of Henrietta’s reins was sliding through his fingers. By the time he was aware of it, Marit’s mount was loping into the camp.

“嘿！”剑僮准备追上去，临走前还看了一眼塔尔兹。“别动。”他一边说，一边抽出小刀把龙蜥的缰绳钉在地上，然后向亨丽埃塔飞奔过去。

“Hey!” The blade squire started to pursue her, before looking back at Talz. “Stay,” he warned, drawing his knife and pinning the basilisk’s reins to the ground with it before sprinting after Henrietta.

“停下！”他对那头脱缰的蜥蜴大喊，而她则在一行行帐篷之间鬼祟地踱步。她停下脚步，扭过长长的脖子看了看俄拉斯。亨丽埃塔对他呲牙吐息，她现在还戴着嘴套，或者按照马莉特的叫法，戴着“珠宝”。这副嘴套覆盖了整个面部和头骨，既是防护头盔，也是进攻武器，在她已经凶狠异常的尖牙外面加了一层锐利的刀齿。

“Whoa,” he called to the roving saurian as she stalked between a line of billet tents. She stopped, her long neck swiveling to regard Erath. Henrietta hissed at him through the gleaming metal of her chanfron, what Marit called “her jewelry.” Enclosing her face and skull, it was part protective helm, part weapon, accentuating her already vicious fangs with sharpened iron blades.

“请冷静，我的女士，”俄拉斯安抚着她，张开双臂缓缓缩短距离。“冷静，没事的。”

“Easy, my lady,” Erath coaxed, arms wide as he slowly closed the distance between them. “Easy, now.”

“快点管管那玩意！”附近一群人里传来一声叫嚷。亨丽埃塔和剑僮同时瞪了过去。

“Control that thing!” bellowed a voice from a group nearby. Both Henrietta and the blade squire shot them a hostile glare.

“她被关在船里好几天了，”俄拉斯对那群士兵吼道。她趁亨丽埃塔不注意，抓住了她的缰绳，在小臂上缠了几圈。“她需要活动，要不你来陪她练练？不想的话就别挡道！”

“She’s been cooped up on a ship for days,” Erath barked at the soldiers. He took advantage of Henrietta’s diverted attention and grabbed hold of her reins, wrapping the leather around his forearm. “She needs exercise, you want to be it? Then stay out of the way!”

俄拉斯恶狠狠地瞪着那群士兵，看着他们散开，过了好一阵才意识到符文工匠正在叫他。他回头牵起塔尔兹的缰绳，带着两头异兽走过去。他前面赶着龙蜥，后面牵着亨丽埃塔，前往蒂法莲芝、阿蕾尔和马莉特正在等待的地点。他看到符文工匠一行人的氛围有些不对，一种从未有过的紧张气息。几人的姿态身势体现出的紧绷感也同样陌生。

Erath stared down the soldiers and watched them disperse, only registering after a time that the runesmith was calling for him. He went back to gather up Talz’s reins and guided his charges along, tugging the basilisk forward and holding Henrietta back as he headed toward where Tifalenji waited with Arrel and Marit. He saw new tension in the runesmith’s companions as he approached, a tightness in their postures that hadn’t been there before.

“不用着急。”马莉特不屑地说着，一把夺过亨丽埃塔的缰绳。阿蕾尔蹲了下去，手指扫过地面上的碎石，她的亚龙犬绕着她转圈。

“Take your time,” Marit sneered, snatching Henrietta’s reins from Erath. Arrel squatted down, fingers brushing over the rubble strewn over the ground as her drakehounds orbited her.

“这是古时的魔法，”追猎手喃喃地说，“某种沉睡已久的力量，如今被唤醒。”

“This was old magic,” muttered the tracker. “Something long-sleeping, now roused.”

“你在哪学会感知魔法的？”马莉特狐疑地提起一撇眉毛。

“Where did you learn to sense magic?” Marit arced a skeptical eyebrow.

“就在这儿。”阿蕾尔回答的声音就像在说悄悄话。

“Here,” Arrel answered, barely above a whisper.

“可以啊，”马莉特说着，带着期待的目光看向蒂法莲芝。“怎么样？”

“Oh joy,” replied Marit. She glanced at Tifalenji expectantly. “Well?”

“我们队伍的最后一名队员在这里，就在斐洛尔。”符文工匠答道，“我们需要找到她。”

“The last member of our expedition is here, at Fae’lor,” the runesmith replied. “We simply need to find her.”

“只需要找到比武场，”阿蕾尔说，“跟着血腥味就能见到她。”

“Just look for a dueling pit,” said Arrel. “She won’t be far from the scent of blood.”

俄拉斯点点头，已经习惯了从她们的只言片语中寻找线索。“她也养了什么野兽需要我来照料吗？”

Erath nodded, growing accustomed to gleaning what he could from inferences and cryptic words. “Does she have a beast that I am to care for as well?”

“噢，男仆，”马莉特摇了摇头。“提涅芙？她自己就是野兽。”阿蕾尔说的没错。虽然整个斐洛尔都在重建，但这里依然是一座诺克萨斯军营。一行人循着钢铁碰撞的声音，那种比打铁锤更猛烈的节奏，找到了岛上比武练兵的地方。

“Oh, manservant,” Marit shook her head. “Teneff? She is the beast.”Arrel was right. While Fae’lor was in the midst of its reconstruction, it still remained a Noxian military camp. They followed the sound of ringing steel, sharper than the rhythm coming from the forges’ hammers, leading them to where the warriors on the island trained.

走过几个帐篷，地面上被挖出了一排浅坑，每个坑里都有一对士兵在比武。他们用钝剑、木棍或徒手交战，但有一个场地周围聚满了人。他们不得不硬扒开观看的士兵才能看见坑里的人。

Past rows of billet tents were dug a series of shallow pits, each of them occupied by a pair of dueling soldiers. With blunted swords, wooden staves, or bare hands they sparred, but one in particular had attracted a crowd. The party had to muscle their way through the watching soldiers to catch a glimpse into the pit.

两个穿了全套护甲的诺克萨斯士兵正在场地中盘旋。其中一人拿着练习用剑和小圆盾，另一人用的是流星钩锤。周围观战的士兵都在大声喝采，看着他们把握着距离，互相佯攻试探。

Two Noxians circled each other in full war-plate. One wielded a training sword and buckler, the other a heavy iron hook mounted on a length of chain. The soldiers watching cheered the pair as they measured distance and exchanged feints.

剑士看准了空档。他向前突刺，持着小圆盾袭向对手的面门，同时用剑横扫下盘。另一位战士向后一跃，刚好躲过剑刃，同时飞出流星钩锤，铁链缠住了对手持盾的手。她猛甩手，将剑士拉到近前，正中她的头槌。他重重地跌倒在泥地里，被撞歪的鼻子血流不止。

The swordsman sensed an opening. He lunged forward, flicking his buckler into his opponent’s face while slashing low with his sword. The other fighter leapt back, just shy of the blade, while throwing her hooked chain to ensnare the man’s shield arm. She whipped her arm down, wrenching the swordsman forward into a brutal headbutt. He dropped to the mire like a stone, blood spraying from a ruined nose.

“第一滴血，我拿到了。”她洋洋得意地说，围观的士兵们爆发出喝彩声。

“That’s first blood to me,” she crowed, and the onlookers erupted in cheers.

“够脏的，提涅芙，”剑士怒吼着抹干净脸上的血，露出坏笑。“第二滴血定胜负吧。我跟你还没打完呢。”

“That was dirty, Teneff,” the swordsman snarled, pawing blood from his mashed nose with a wicked laugh. “Let’s make it second blood. I’m not done with you yet.”

“说好了，第一滴血，”提涅芙的声音中没有半点让步，“我们还指望着你上前线呢，塞斯特斯。”

“First blood was the agreement,” Teneff repeated, with no compromise in her voice. “We need you in the line, Cestus.”

剑士骂了一句，从泥里站起来，慢慢爬出浅坑。提涅芙把铁链缠在小臂上，抬头发现俄拉斯和他的小队正望着她。她疑惑地睁大了双眼，“马莉特，阿蕾尔？”

The swordsman barked out a swear and stood, trudging up out of the pit. Teneff wound her chain around her forearm, looking up to find Erath and the party staring down at her. Her eyes widened in confusion. “Marit? Arrel?”

马莉特笑了：“脑袋还是那么硬哈，提涅芙？”

Marit chuckled. “Still cracking skulls, eh, Ten?”

提涅芙往地上吐了一口浓痰。“咱几个总是安分不下来啊。”她咧嘴笑出来，抓住阿蕾尔伸出的手，从浅坑里爬上来。

Teneff spat a gobbet of phlegm onto the ground. “Some of us never stopped,” she said with a grin, taking the hand Arrel offered her to pull her up out of the pit.

俄拉斯向后退，给她让路。提涅芙带着破盾手的标志，这种士兵最擅长在一臂以内的距离交战。她身着皮甲和铁铠，裸露在铠甲外的每一寸皮肤上都是纵横交错的疤痕，那是戎马一生换来的鲜血事迹和荣誉勋章。他很好奇那些伤疤有多少是在艾欧尼亚留下的。

Erath backed out of her way as she climbed out. Teneff bore the hallmarks of a shield-breaker, a warrior of the line at home when her enemy was within arm’s reach. Scars crisscrossed any flesh not covered in leather and iron armor, tales of blood and honor etched into her over a lifetime of battle. He wondered how many of the scars she bore were earned here in Ionia.

“上次我看见你们，”提涅芙说，“我们还都在——”

“The last time I saw either of you,” said Teneff, “we were all—”

“这里。”马莉特说。她们沉默了片刻。这四人之间有着某种纽带，俄拉斯可以明显感觉得到。但同时也有一种空缺，一种心照不宣，甚至是失落的感觉。他已经跟她们相处了足够久的时间，知道不该打探。

“Here,” said Marit. Quiet descended between the soldiers for a few moments. There was a bond between them, Erath could see that clearly. But there was a void there as well, something unspoken, or even missing. He had lived around soldiers long enough to know not to prod.

“好吧，”提涅芙打破了沉默。“如果你们都从瓦洛兰而来，那你们肯定在船上吃了好多天的泔水。我们的炊事员虽然不是大师，但肯定比船上的饭好吃一点。来吧。”

“Well,” said Teneff, breaking the silence. “If you’re all coming from Valoran, then you’ve been eating ship’s slop for days. Our cook’s no artist, but they’re a damn sight better than that. Come.”

太阳开始沉入天边，把天空染成一道道金黄、橘橙和绯红的色带，最后变成一片靛蓝。他们穿过帐篷群，在火边找到了座位，抵御即将袭来的寒冷。几个女人聊了起来，各自介绍自己在她们分道扬镳以后的经历，回忆她们共同落下的老疤。俄拉斯安静地听着。

The sun had begun to sink into the horizon, painting the sky in dappled bands of gold, orange, and scarlet, drifting down into indigo. They made their way through the mess tent and then found seats around a fire as the air started to chill. The women talked amongst themselves, of what they had done since last they served beside each other, and of the old wounds endured together. Erath remained silent, and listened.

“你呢，小子？”提涅芙的注意力转向剑僮。“你沾过血吗？以前办过大事吗？”

“And you, boy,” said Teneff, her attention shifting to the blade squire. “You blooded? Fought your principal yet?”

俄拉斯坐直了身子达到，“是的，我已经办过大事了。”

Erath straightened. “I served my principal, yes.”

她眉目之间变得严肃，理性。“在哪？”

Her aspect became serious, analytical. “Where?”

“是在达拉莫平原西边的边境遭遇战，”俄拉斯答道，“一次很迅速的行动，并不是很激烈。”他看向每个人，发现自己的回答还不够详细。这可不是一般平民的无知打探，不是因为自己从未经历过战斗就想满足对战场的幻想。她们都是老兵，她们可能要和他并肩作战，所以需要了解他究竟见过什么，依赖什么。

“It was a border skirmish west of the Dalamor plains,” Erath answered. “A quick action, pretty light.” He looked to each of them, seeing that his answer had not been enough. This was not the ignorant voyeurism of the civilian, eager to satisfy some fanciful idea of what it was like to fight in a war they would never experience. These were veterans, warriors who may find themselves beside him in the line, needing to know what he had seen and how he had carried himself.

“那是一片肥沃谷地上的零散村落，”他继续讲下去，“他们都是大个子，农家出身，不过他们从小学的是种地，不是杀人。我们擂起战鼓，跑步冲锋，合围，包住他们的右翼。没几下就把他们都开了膛。”

“It was a shallow expansion through a fertile valley,” he continued. “They were big boys, farming stock, but they were brought up to till the soil, not turn it red. Once we got within a rapid drumbeat, running charge, we closed, rolled up their right side double fast. Opened them up quite quickly.”

“他们还有留下来的吗，”阿蕾尔问，“留下继续种地的？”

“Any of them left afterward,” asked Arrel, “to till that soil?”

俄拉斯摇摇头，“我们尽力了。后来他们的长老过来，我们叫来了其他人帮忙干活。要耕种才有收获，时间耗不起。”

Erath shook his head. “We tried. After their elders came around, we brought in others to help them take up the work. Harvest needed planting, no time to wait.”

马莉特翘着头问，“那帮大个子，有几个是被你放血的呢？”

Marit tilted her head. “And how many of those big farm boys did you make the soil red with, eh?”

“别说了。”蒂法莲芝说。

“Leave it alone,” said Tifalenji.

“我当时是后卫，”俄拉斯耸了耸肩，“等到战线转移到我这里的时候，他们已经溃败了。我们差不多只是处决那些伤势严重、救不活的，然后就是挖坟坑了。”

“I was rearguard,” Erath shrugged. “By the time the lines rotated to me, they were already broken. We mostly just finished off those too wounded to save, and dug graves.”

那段回忆浮现在俄拉斯脑海中。穿行在战斗结束后的战场上，走过被冲破的盾墙，突然觉得有人抓住他的脚踝。低头一看，是一个腹部被长枪贯穿的人，对他说着他听不懂的话，但想表达的意思很明确。

The memory surfaced in Erath’s mind without asking. Trudging through the aftermath of a broken shield wall, feeling someone take hold of his ankle. Looking down, seeing a man who had taken a spear thrust to the belly, croaking at him in words he didn’t know, but a message he understood clear enough.

他把枪尖对准那个人的喉咙。那个人仰起头接受命运。“这是什么时候的事？”蒂法莲芝问。

Putting his speartip to the man’s throat. The man tilting his head back to accept it.“When was this?” asked Teneff.

“今年春天。”俄拉斯答道。

“This past spring,” Erath answered.

“是个雏儿！”马莉特高喊道。

“An infant!” exclaimed Marit.

“我叫你别说了，”符文工匠瞪过去，“他是来照料异兽的，不需要干别的。”

“I said leave it alone,” the runesmith growled. “He’s here to tend beasts, nothing more.”

马莉特笑起来，她饶有兴致地眯起双眼。提涅芙看着蒂法莲芝问，“你呢，符文匠？你被派到哪去了？”

Marit chuckled, her eyes narrowed in amusement. Teneff eyed Tifalenji. “What of you then, rune-shaper? Where have you served?”

“离这里很远的地方。”她答道。她眼中奇怪的光让俄拉斯确信，关于她的经历，其他人就只能听到这么多了。睡眠对于当兵的人来说是一种奢侈。任何不被打扰的整段休息都极为珍贵，唯一能与之媲美的是一顿饱餐或者一双上等的皮靴。俄拉斯曾经努力适应亚托尼亚德号的晃动，但他能睡着的时间总是只有零星片刻。回到稳固的地面上以后，他终于可以在工作结束以后把斗篷铺在动物圈舍旁边平整的干草堆上，头枕着背包，美美地睡上一觉。早晨喂食之前，他应该可以连续睡上几个小时。

“Far from here,” she answered, and the odd light in her eyes convinced Erath that was as much as they would hear of her experiences.Sleep was a glorious thing to a soldier. Any span of uninterrupted rest was precious, rivaling a full belly or a pair of well-made boots to a fighting man or woman. Erath had tried to adjust to the endless rolling and pitching of the Atoniad, but sleep had only come to him in fits and starts. Back on solid ground, with his cloak laid out on a flat, dry patch near the animal pens and his duties done, the blade squire rested his head against his pack and savored the prospect of sleeping through the next handful of hours before the early morning feedings came.

可是感觉他刚闭上眼，就听到有动静。尖锐，冰冷。一把小刀贴在了他的脖子上。

It felt as though he had no more than blinked before he heard the voice, sharp and cold as the edge of the knife he felt against his neck.

“照我说的做，别出声，不然抹了你脖子。”

“Do as I say, in silence, or I will cut your throat.”

俄拉斯睁开眼。距离黎明还有几个小时，头顶的月亮像一把银色的镰刀，他被提了起来。他自己的小刀被收走了。他们一起走着，俄拉斯小心翼翼，动作缓慢，双手举在他人的视线范围内，被领着来到营地的边缘。

Erath opened his eyes. Dawn’s light was still hours away, the moon a thin silver sickle overhead as he was jerked to his feet. His knife had been taken. They walked, Erath careful to keep his movements slow and hands in view as he was led to the edge of the camp.

几个人影站在前面。他听到几只猎犬的低吼，那几个人影逐渐清晰，原来是阿蕾尔和马莉特，而跪在地上的则是符文工匠。

A huddle of figures stood ahead. He heard the low snarling of hounds as they approached, the silhouettes materializing into Arrel and Marit with the kneeling figure of the runesmith between them.

“你来艾欧尼亚到底要干什么，小子？”一个声音用命令的口吻问他，同时把他推倒，令他跪在蒂法莲芝旁边。他可以辨认出身后的声音是提涅芙。

“What are you doing in Ionia, boy?” demanded the voice as Erath was shoved to his knees beside Tifalenji. He was alert enough to recognize the voice behind him as Teneff’s.

“我——”

“I—”

“他什么都不知道，”蒂法莲芝冷静地说。提涅芙拿开了俄拉斯喉咙上的匕首，绕到符文工匠面前。

“He knows nothing,” said Tifalenji calmly. Teneff lifted the knife from Erath’s throat and rounded upon the runesmith.

“我们又知道你多少呢？”提涅芙看了看其他两位老兵。“文件可以造假，军令可以仿制。”

“And what do we know about you, eh?” Teneff looked to her fellow veterans. “Documents can be forged, mandates concocted.”

“我的军令是真的，”蒂法莲芝异常冷静，甚至让俄拉斯觉得可怕。“你们正在试探的这股力量也同样真实，抵抗是没用的。”

“My mandate is quite genuine,” said Tifalenji, her calm eerie to Erath, “as is the power you are flirting with opposing.”

马莉特翘起脑袋，“这小子知道你说要找的是谁吗？你究竟要让我们找什么人？”

Marit tilted her head. “Does the boy even know who you say you’re hunting? Who you would have us hunt?”

“他知道他需要知道的，别的没了。”

“He knows what has been necessary for him to know, and nothing more.”

“或许现在该让他知道了，”提涅芙低头看着俄拉斯。“你在寻找一个幽灵。一个光荣战死的诺克萨斯英雄。我们的战友。”她示意了一下阿蕾尔和马莉特。“我们的姐妹！”

“Then perhaps it’s time he knew,” Teneff looked down at Erath. “You seek a ghost. A warrior who died in honor as a hero to Noxus. Our comrade.” She gestured to Arrel and Marit. “Our sister!”

“她还活着。”符文工匠说。

“She lives,” said the runesmith.

“胡说！”提涅芙悄声吼道，“告诉我，我凭什么相信你说的哪怕一个字，我凭什么不马上宰了你？”

“Lies!” Teneff hissed. “Tell me why I should believe a word from your mouth and not kill you right here?”

“因为我所效忠的力量并不会犯那种错误。如果他们说她活着，那她就一定活着。你们都是奉帝国之命与她并肩作战。现在帝国命令我们找到她，把她带回去。我的权限高于这里的军队，他们不知道我们的任务，也不该知道。”

“Because the powers to which I answer do not make those mistakes. If they say she lives, then she lives. You all served alongside her in service of the empire. Now the empire commands that we find her, and bring her back to them. My authority supersedes that of the garrisons here, they do not know of our task, nor shall they.”

“你有什么证据？”马莉特不依不饶地问。

“What proof do you have of any of this?” demanded Marit.

“她的剑。”蒂法莲芝叹了口气。其他女子都僵住了。

“Her blade,” Tifalenji sighed. The women stiffened.

“剑怎么了？”提涅芙问。

“What of it?” hissed Teneff.

“你们知道吗，她曾想要毁掉它。”符文工匠说着，深吸一口气，双眼脉动着翡翠的颜色。“但是她失败了，剑中灌注的魔法在遭受亵渎的同时发出了哭喊。我的主人们听到了，他们看到了下手的人，看得清清楚楚，几乎就和她在同一个屋内。我们就是这样知道的。”

“Did you know she tried to destroy it?” asked the runesmith. She drew in a deep breath, and her eyes pulsed emerald. “She failed, and the magic that infused it cried out at the desecration. My masters heard it, and they saw who was responsible, as clearly as if they were standing in the room with her. That is how we know.”

“如果她真还活着，”提涅芙说，“那她就是个逃兵，而你也正在要求我们成为逃兵。逃兵就该处死。”

“If she yet lives,” said Teneff, “then she is a deserter, the very crime you now ask us all to commit. The punishment for which is death.”

蒂法莲芝迎上提涅芙闪烁的目光。“成功完成任务，帮我猎寻她的踪迹，把她带回诺克萨斯受审，你们是不会遭到惩罚的。你们扪心自问，咱们在这里牺牲了那么多，她的背叛怎么可能不伤害到你。你们怎能放弃正义的审判，不再追问她这么多年来苟且偷生的答案。”

Tifalenji met Teneff’s withering gaze. “Succeed in this task, aid me in hunting her down and return her for judgment in Noxus, and no censure will befall you. Look into yourselves, all that you sacrificed in this place, and tell me that her treason does not wound you. Tell me you would turn your backs on seeing justice done, and the wayward answer for the life she has led these past years.”

黑暗的沉默笼罩着这几个人。提涅芙、马莉特和阿蕾尔都散发着紧张的气息，随时都可能刀剑相向。俄拉斯硬着头皮，他痛恨这些秘密，他不想就这么死在斐洛尔，死的不明不白。

A dark silence hung over the gathering. Tension radiated from Teneff, Marit, and Arrel, the threat of violence balanced on a knife’s edge. Erath fought his nerves, the simmering rage of secrets and the idea he may die here, on Fae’lor, with no inkling at all as to why.

“我们跟你走。”

“We will go with you.”

所有人的眼睛都落在阿蕾尔身上，这是俄拉斯被带来以后她说的第一句话。马莉特转身看向追猎手。“你就这么替我们做主了？”

All eyes fell on Arrel, her first words since Erath had been brought to them. Marit rounded on the tracker. “You speak for all of us, now?”

“我做主。”阿蕾尔平静地说。她清了清嗓子，俄拉斯听上去都替她觉得疼。“因为我们是士兵，全都是。士兵就要服从命令。但不仅如此，她还是我们的姐妹。是姐妹，就该有个说法。”

“I do,” Arrel said flatly. She cleared her throat, the effort sounding almost pained to Erath. “Because we are soldiers, all of us. And a soldier does their duty. But more than that, she was a sister to us. And sisters deserve answers.”

马莉特对阿蕾尔怒目而视，她一双黑色的瞳孔凌厉炽烈，但她缓和了下来。“说法。”她重复了一遍。

Marit glared at Arrel, her dark eyes slits of intensity, but she relented. “Answers,” she repeated.

提涅芙咬紧牙，其他两位老兵都对她点了点头。她提着符文工匠的领子把她拎起来，但并没有松开手。“只要被我稍微发觉你在撒谎，我就砍了你的脑袋，老巫婆。”

Teneff gritted her teeth, looking to the other veterans who gave her solemn nods. She hauled the runesmith to her feet by her collar, but did not release her. “At the first inkling that what you have told us here are lies, witch, I will take your head.”

“我说的只有真相。”蒂法莲芝说，“我们耽误的已经够久了。我们必须深入初生之土的腹地，而且必须立刻启程。”

“I speak only the truth,” answered Tifalenji. “And more now that we can tarry no longer than we already have. We must cross into the heart of the First Lands, and we must do so now.”

蒂法莲芝终于看向了俄拉斯。“我对她们说的话，对你来说一样真实，剑僮。跟我们一起上路，照料异兽、奉命效忠，你会得到奖赏。”

Tifalenji looked to Erath now for the first time. “What I have said to them bears the same truth to you, blade squire. Go with us along this path, attend and serve, and you will be rewarded.”

“我是诺克萨斯忠诚的战士”俄拉斯大声说。“我会完成使命，不需要背地里的承诺或者死亡的威胁。帝国命令我做你的剑僮，我就照做。我只问一个问题。”

“I am a loyal warrior of Noxus,” Erath proclaimed. “I do my duty, and need not shadowy promises or the threat of a slit throat to do it. The empire bids I serve you, so I do. I only ask one question.”

蒂法莲芝冷静地看着俄拉斯。“问吧。”

Tifalenji regarded Erath soberly. “Ask it.”

“她是谁？”俄拉斯问，“我们要找的人是谁？”

“Who is it?” asked Erath. “Who are we hunting?”

符文工匠抽出了剑。“她现在可能已经更名改姓，换成了初生之土的新名字。”

The runesmith drew her sword. “She may call herself something different now, some adoptive name for her new life in the First Lands.”

那些被她刻在剑刃上的符文现在跃上了半空，划出一道轨迹，引着他们前往那片黑暗而又神秘的土地。

The runes Erath had watched her etch along the blade leapt from the iron into the sky, like a trail leading off into the dark mystic land that loomed ahead of them.

“但在诺克萨斯，我们叫她锐雯。”

“But in Noxus, her name was Riven.”