Ⅱ 列王的纷争 Chapter69 布兰

BRAN

漫天尘烬，犹如一场柔软的灰雪。

The ashes fell like a soft grey snow.

他踏着干燥的松针和棕色的落叶，来到松木稀疏的树林边缘。开阔场地远端，在人类荒凉的石山里，熊熊火焰盘旋上升，热风迎面扑来，带着浓浓的鲜血和烤肉的味道，令他垂涎欲滴。

He padded over dry needles and brown leaves, to the edge of the wood where the pines grew thin. Beyond the open fields he could see the great piles of man-rock stark against the swirling flames. The wind blew hot and rich with the smell of blood and burnt meat, so strong he began to slaver.

这些味道吸引他们前去，别的气息又在警告他们退避。他仔细嗅闻飘来的烟。人，好多人，好多马，还有火、火、火。这是最危险的气息，即便坚硬冰冷的钢铁，即便酸臭的人类爪子和硬皮都比不上。烟雾和灰烬刺痛眼睛，他举目上望，只见一条长翅膀的大蛇张牙舞爪，咆哮着喷出烈焰洪流。他朝它咧牙露齿，但大蛇无动于衷。峭壁之外，冲天大火吞噬繁星。

Yet as one smell drew them onward, others warned them back. He sniffed at the drifting smoke. Men, many men, many horses, and fire, fire, fire. No smell was more dangerous, not even the hard cold smell of iron, the stuff of man-claws and hardskin. The smoke and ash clouded his eyes, and in the sky he saw a great winged snake whose roar was a river of flame. He bared his teeth, but then the snake was gone. Behind the cliffs tall fires were eating up the stars.

大火彻夜燃烧，一度发出怒吼和巨响，脚底的土地摇摇欲裂。狗在吠叫、呜咽，马儿在恐惧中厉声尖嘶。暗夜中的哀号惊天动地——那是人类的哀号，惧怕的嚎啕，狂野的呼叫，歇斯底里的大笑和莫可名状的呼唤。人类是最吵闹的动物。他竖起耳朵、仔细聆听，弟弟却对每个声音都报以咆哮。他们整夜游荡林间，无垠的风吹来漫天的尘，散布余烬，遮盖长天。当火势渐衰，他们决定离去。雾的清晨，灰的太阳。

All through the night the fires crackled, and once there was a great roar and a crash that made the earth jump under his feet. Dogs barked and whined and horses screamed in terror. Howls shuddered through the night; the howls of the man-pack, wails of fear and wild shouts, laughter and screams. No beast was as noisy as man. He pricked up his ears and listened, and his brother growled at every sound. They prowled under the trees as a piney wind blew ashes and embers through the sky. In time the flames began to dwindle, and then they were gone. The sun rose grey and smoky that morning.

他离开树林，缓慢穿过场地，弟弟跑在身畔。他们追随鲜血和死亡的气息，沉寂地穿过人类用木头、青草和泥巴筑成的洞穴。其中许多烧毁，许多垮塌，只有极少数维持原状。他们见不着也闻不到一个活人。乌鸦遍布尸体，等他兄弟俩走近，便跳进空中尖声叫喊。野狗则在他们跟前落荒而逃。

Only then did he leave the trees, stalking slow across the fields. His brother ran with him, drawn to the smell of blood and death. They padded silent through the dens the men had built of wood and grass and mud. Many and more were burned and many and more were collapsed; others stood as they had before. Yet nowhere did they see or scent a living man. Crows blanketed the bodies and leapt into the air screeching when his brother and he came near. The wild dogs slunk away before them.

雄伟的灰壁下，一匹垂死的马大声闹嚷，它想用断腿挣扎站立，却屡屡嘶叫着倒下。弟弟围着它转圈，然后一口撕开它的喉咙，马儿无力地踢打几下，闭上了眼睛。他朝马尸走去，弟弟却一口咬来，衔住他耳朵往后拖，于是他拿前脚环住对方，反咬弟弟的腿。他们在草地、泥土和散落的灰烬之中争斗，为死马而扭打，直到弟弟仰面朝天，卷起尾巴，表示顺服为止。他朝弟弟暴露的喉头咬了最后一小口，然后开始用餐，并让弟弟也参加。吃饱后，他帮弟弟舔掉黑毛上的血。

Beneath the great grey cliffs a horse was dying noisily, struggling to rise on a broken leg and screaming when he fell. His brother circled round him, then tore out his throat while the horse kicked feebly and rolled his eyes. When he approached the carcass his brother snapped at him and laid back his ears, and he cuffed him with a forepaw and bit his leg. They fought amidst the grass and dirt and falling ashes beside the dead horse, until his brother rolled on his back in submission, tail tucked low. One more bite at his upturned throat; then he fed, and let his brother feed, and licked the blood off his black fur.

此时，黑暗角落的呼唤突然传来，喃喃的低语把他往那座什么也看不见的房子拖。冰冷的召唤，带着石头气息，盖过所有扰攘。他挣扎，抗拒那份引力。他厌恶黑暗。他是狼，他是猎人、游侠和杀手，他属于辽阔大森林里的兄弟姐妹，他希望自由自在奔跑于星斗之下。于是他坐下来，仰天长嗥。我不要去，他高喊，我是狼，我不要去。然而黑暗却逐渐笼罩，蒙住眼睛，灌满鼻子，遮掩耳朵，他看不见、听不到、闻不出、跑不动。灰壁消失，死马不见，弟弟无踪，一切都化为黑暗。沉寂、黑暗、冰冷、黑暗、死亡、黑暗……

The dark place was pulling at him by then, the house of whispers where all men were blind. He could feel its cold fingers on him. The stony smell of it was a whisper up the nose. He struggled against the pull. He did not like the darkness. He was wolf. He was hunter and stalker and slayer, and he belonged with his brothers and sisters in the deep woods, running free beneath a starry sky. He sat on his haunches, raised his head, and howled. I will not go, he cried. I am wolf, I will not go. Yet even so the darkness thickened, until it covered his eyes and filled his nose and stopped his ears, so he could not see or smell or hear or run, and the grey cliffs were gone and the dead horse was gone and his brother was gone and all was black and still and black and cold and black and dead and black …

“布兰，”温柔的耳语传来。“布兰，快醒醒。快醒醒啊，布兰。布兰……”

“Bran,” a voice was whispering softly. “Bran, come back. Come back now, Bran. Bran …”

他闭上第三只眼，睁开其余的两只，老旧的两只，瞎盲的两只。理所当然，在黑暗中人类都是瞎子。但有人紧搂着他，他感觉出胳膊的环绕，体会到依偎的温暖。阿多在不断念叨：“阿多，阿多，阿多，”他自己保持沉默。

He closed his third eye and opened the other two, the old two, the blind two. In the dark place all men were blind. But someone was holding him. He could feel arms around him, the warmth of a body snuggled close. He could hear Hodor singing “Hodor, hodor, hodor,” quietly to himself.

    “布兰？”这是梅拉的声音。“你刚才拳打脚踢，发出恐怖的喊叫。看见什么了？”

“Bran?” It was Meera’s voice. “You were thrashing, making terrible noises. What did you see?”

“是临冬城。”他有些口齿不清地回答。总有一天，当我回来时，将彻底忘记怎么说话。“那是临冬城，整个都在燃烧。马的味道，铁的味道，还有血。梅拉，他们把所有人都害死了。”

“Winterfell.” His tongue felt strange and thick in his mouth. One day when I come back I won’t know how to talk anymore. “It was Winterfell. It was all on fire. There were horse smells, and steel, and blood. They killed everyone, Meera.”

他觉出她伸手抚着他的脸，梳理他的头发。“好多汗，”她说，“要喝水吗？”

He felt her hand on his face, stroking back his hair. “You’re all sweaty,” she said. “Do you need a drink?”

“喝水，”他同意。于是她把皮袋凑过来，布兰急切吞咽，水从嘴角不断溢出。每次回来，他都虚弱、干渴而饥饿。他还记得垂死的马，鲜血的味道和晨风中烤肉的气息。“我睡了多久？”

“A drink,” he agreed. She held a skin to his lips, and Bran swallowed so fast the water ran out of the corner of his mouth. He was always weak and thirsty when he came back. And hungry too. He remembered the dying horse, the taste of blood in his mouth, the smell of burnt flesh in the morning air. “How long?”

“整整三天，”玖健道。不知男孩刚轻手轻脚地赶到，还是一直便在旁边；在这黑暗迟钝的世界里，布兰什么也不能确定。“我们都为你担心。”

“Three days,” said Jojen. The boy had come up softfoot, or perhaps he had been there all along; in this blind black world, Bran could not have said. “We were afraid for you.”

“我和夏天在一起，”布兰说。

“I was with Summer,” Bran said.

“太久了，你会饿死自己的本体。梅拉曾为你灌了点水，我们还往你嘴唇涂蜂蜜，但这些远远不够。”

“Too long. You’ll starve yourself. Meera dribbled a little water down your throat, and we smeared honey on your mouth, but it is not enough.”

“我吃过，”布兰道，“我们扑杀一头鹿，还赶走想来偷吃的树猫。”那猫体毛棕褐，只有冰原狼一半大，却十分凶猛。他还记得它身上的麝香味道，记得它趴在橡树枝干上低头咆哮。

“I ate,” said Bran. “We ran down an elk and had to drive off a treecat that tried to steal him.” The cat had been tan-and-brown, only half the size of the direwolves, but fierce. He remembered the musky smell of him, and the way he had snarled down at them from the limb of the oak.

“吃东西的是狼，”玖健说，“不是你。小心，布兰，请记得自己的身份。”

“The wolf ate,” Jojen said. “Not you. Take care, Bran. Remember who you are.”

他怎不记得自己的身份？他太清楚了：小男孩布兰，残废的布兰。倒不如当凶兽布兰。这教他怎不思念夏天，怎不想做狼梦呢？在这阴冷潮湿的漆黑墓窖，他的第三只眼终于睁开。而今他随时能连接夏天，甚至触碰过白灵，并透过他与琼恩对话——不过或许那只是梦罢！他不明白玖健干嘛老急着把他拉回来。布兰用双手撑起身子，蠕动坐定。“我得把看见的情形告诉欧莎。她在这里吗？她上哪儿去了？”

He remembered who he was all too well; Bran the boy, Bran the broken. Better Bran the beastling. Was it any wonder he would sooner dream his Summer dreams, his wolf dreams? Here in the chill damp darkness of the tomb his third eye had finally opened. He could reach Summer whenever he wanted, and once he had even touched Ghost and talked to Jon. Though maybe he had only dreamed that. He could not understand why Jojen was always trying to pull him back now. Bran used the strength of his arms to squirm to a sitting position. “I have to tell Osha what I saw. Is she here? Where did she go?”

女野人出声答道：“我在。大人，这里黑黑的，什么都不方便。”他听见脚跟与石地板的摩擦，便转头看去，一无所获。无妨，闻得出来。转念间，他想起自己没了夏天的鼻子，众人都是一样的味道。“昨晚我尿在那个国王腿上，”欧莎说，“也可能是早晨，谁知道？我睡着了，刚刚醒。”大家和布兰一样，通常都在睡，这里无事可做，只有睡了吃，吃了睡，间或交流几句……却不敢多说，更不敢大声，只为确保安全。欧莎认为大家最好一句话都别说，但安抚瑞肯谈何容易，阿多的呢喃也无法阻止。“阿多，阿多，阿多，”他总是自言自语，说个不休。

The wildling woman herself gave answer. “Nowhere, m’lord. I’ve had my fill o’ blundering in the black.” He heard the scrape of a heel on stone, turned his head toward the sound, but saw nothing. He thought he could smell her, but he wasn’t sure. All of them stank alike, and he did not have Summer’s nose to tell one from the other. “Last night I pissed on a king’s foot,” Osha went on. “Might be it was morning, who can say? I was sleeping, but now I’m not.” They all slept a lot, not only Bran. There was nothing else to do. Sleep and eat and sleep again, and sometimes talk a little … but not too much, and only in whispers, just to be safe. Osha might have liked it better if they had never talked at all, but there was no way to quiet Rickon, or to stop Hodor from muttering, “Hodor, hodor, hodor,” endlessly to himself.

“欧莎，”布兰道，“我看见临冬城在燃烧。”瑞肯轻柔的呼吸从左边传来。

“Osha,” Bran said, “I saw Winterfell burning.” Off to his left, he could hear the soft sound of Rickon’s breathing.

“那只是梦，”欧莎说。

“A dream,” said Osha.

“是狼梦，”布兰道，“我记得那味道。血与火，非比寻常的气息。”

“A wolf dream,” said Bran. “I smelled it too. Nothing smells like fire, or blood.”

“谁的血？”

“Whose blood?”

“马血，狗血，人血，大家的血。我们得去看看。”

“Men, horses, dogs, everyone. We have to go see.”

“我可只有这身瘦皮囊，”欧莎道，“若给那乌贼亲王捉住，非被剥皮不可。”

“This scrawny skin of mine’s the only one I got,” said Osha. “That squid prince catches hold o’ me, they’ll strip it off my back with a whip.”

梅拉在黑暗中牵起布兰的手，捏捏他的指头。“你害怕，我去。”

Meera’s hand found Bran’s in the darkness and gave his fingers a squeeze. “I’ll go if you’re afraid.”

布兰听见手指在皮革中摸索的响动，接着是铁石相击的声音。一次又一次。火花迸出来，被欧莎轻轻地攥住、呵护。一道长白的焰火向上舒展，犹如踮起脚尖的少女。欧莎的脸在火旁浮现，她点燃一根火把。布兰眯眼看去，沥青开始燃烧，给整个世界带来橙色的光芒。瑞肯也醒了，打着呵欠，坐起身子。

Bran heard fingers fumbling at leather, followed by the sound of steel on flint. Then again. A spark flew, caught. Osha blew softly. A long pale flame awoke, stretching upward like a girl on her toes. Osha’s face floated above it. She touched the flame with the head of a torch. Bran had to squint as the pitch began to burn, filling the world with orange glare. The light woke Rickon, who sat up yawning.

影随光动，刹时似乎所有的死人都苏醒过来。莱安娜和布兰登，他俩的父亲瑞卡德·史塔克公爵，瑞卡德的父亲艾德勒公爵，威廉公爵和他的兄弟“躁动的”阿托斯，多诺公爵、伯隆公爵和罗德威公爵，独眼的琼尼尔公爵，巴斯公爵、布兰登公爵和曾与龙骑士决斗的克雷根公爵。他们坐在石椅上，脚边是石制冰原狼。这是尸骨已寒后的安息殿堂，这是属于死者的黑暗大厅，这是仇视生人的恐怖之地。

When the shadows moved, it looked for an instant as if the dead were rising as well. Lyanna and Brandon, Lord Rickard Stark their father, Lord Edwyle his father, Lord Willam and his brother Artos the Implacable, Lord Donnor and Lord Beron and Lord Rodwell, one-eyed Lord Jonnel, Lord Barth and Lord Brandon and Lord Cregan who had fought the Dragonknight. On their stone chairs they sat with stone wolves at their feet. This was where they came when the warmth had seeped out of their bodies; this was the dark hall of the dead, where the living feared to tread.

他们所躲藏的墓穴张开空虚大口，等待着艾德·史塔克公爵，在父亲庄严的花岗石像下，六个亡命者聚在一起，靠微薄的面包、淡水和干肉维生。“不多了，”欧莎眨眼瞧着存粮，低语道，“算啦，我反正都得潜回去偷吃的，否则咱们该拿阿多当点心了。”

And in the mouth of the empty tomb that waited for Lord Eddard Stark, beneath his stately granite likeness, the six fugitives huddled round their little cache of bread and water and dried meat. “Little enough left,” Osha muttered as she blinked down on their stores. “I’d need to go up soon to steal food in any case, or we’d be down to eating Hodor.”

“阿多，”阿多朝她露齿而笑。

“Hodor,” Hodor said, grinning at her.

“上面到底白天还是晚上？”欧莎问，“我已经失去了感觉。”

“Is it day or night up there?” Osha wondered. “I’ve lost all count o’ such.”

“是白天，”布兰告诉她，“但烟雾层层，和黑夜没两样。”

“Day,” Bran told her, “but it’s dark from all the smoke.”

“您确定，大人？”

“M’lord is certain?”

残破的身躯不曾移动，但他看到了一切，两个世界在眼中浮现：一边是手执火把站立的欧莎，以及梅拉、玖健和阿多，在他们身后，两排耸立的花岗岩柱和高大的领主石像朝黑暗中延伸……另一边是临冬城，滚滚浓烟下的灰堡，橡木与钢铁的雄伟大门烧焦坍塌，吊桥锁链断裂、木板散落。护城河里满满的浮尸，成了乌鸦的岛屿。

Never moving his broken body, he reached out all the same, and for an instant he was seeing double. There stood Osha holding the torch, and Meera and Jojen and Hodor, and the double row of tall granite pillars and long dead lords behind them stretching away into darkness … but there was Winterfell as well, grey with drifting smoke, the massive oak-and-iron gates charred and askew, the drawbridge down in a tangle of broken chains and missing planks. Bodies floated in the moat, islands for the crows.

“确定。”他宣布。

“Certain,” he declared.

欧莎考虑了一会儿。“那就冒险上去瞧瞧吧，但你们一定要跟紧。梅拉，把布兰的篮子拿来。”

Osha chewed on that a moment. “I’ll risk a look then. I want the lot o’ you close behind. Meera, get Bran’s basket.”

“我们回家家？”瑞肯兴奋地问。“我好想骑小马，好想吃苹果蛋糕、黄油和蜂蜜。我想毛毛。我们去找毛毛狗吧！”

“Are we going home?” Rickon asked excitedly. “I want my horse. And I want applecakes and butter and honey, and Shaggy. Are we going where Shaggydog is?”

“好的，”布兰允诺，“但你得乖一点，别乱说话。”

“Yes,” Bran promised, “but you have to be quiet.”

梅拉把柳条篮绑在阿多背上，抱布兰进去，将他无用的双腿放进洞。此刻，他肚里七上八下，虽然明知地面有什么等着他，却不能稍减恐惧。出发前，布兰望了父亲最后一眼，只觉艾德公爵的眼中饱含悲伤，好似在恳求他们别走。我们必须去，他心想，再不能拖延。

Meera strapped the wicker basket to Hodor’s back and helped lift Bran into it, easing his useless legs through the holes. He had a queer flutter in his belly. He knew what awaited them above, but that did not make it any less fearful. As they set off, he turned to give his father one last look, and it seemed to Bran that there was a sadness in Lord Eddard’s eyes, as if he did not want them to go. We have to, he thought. It’s time.

欧莎一手拿橡木长矛，一手举火把，背上挂一把无鞘的剑——那是密肯最后的作品之一，原本放在艾德公爵墓前，用来确保灵魂安息的。铁匠死后，敌人占领了军械库，兵器被统统没收，如今只得事急从权。梅拉拿了瑞卡德公爵的剑，不停抱怨它过于沉重。布兰登则取走同名叔叔的武器，那个他从未谋面的大叔。宝剑在手的感觉很美妙，但他知道派不上用场。

Osha carried her long oaken spear in one hand and the torch in the other. A naked sword hung down her back, one of the last to bear Mikken’s mark. He had forged it for Lord Eddard’s tomb, to keep his ghost at rest. But with Mikken slain and the ironmen guarding the armory, good steel had been hard to resist, even if it meant grave-robbing. Meera had claimed Lord Rickard’s blade, though she complained that it was too heavy. Brandon took his namesake’s, the sword made for the uncle he had never known. He knew he would not be much use in a fight, but even so the blade felt good in his hand.

对我来说，剑只是玩具，布兰心想。

But it was only a game, and Bran knew it.

他们的脚步声在长长的墓窖中回荡。身后的阴影很快吞没了父亲，身前的阴影则急促后退，现出更多雕像——这些不是服膺国家的地方领主，而是酷寒北境的古老君王，石冠戴在他们额上。“降服王”托伦·史塔克，“春王”艾德温，“饿狼”席恩·史塔克，“焚船者”布兰登和“造船者”布兰登，乔拉和杰诺斯，“恶人”布兰登，“月王”沃顿，“新郎”艾里昂，艾隆，“甜蜜的”班扬和“苦涩的”班扬，“雪胡王”艾德瑞克。这些面容坚毅刚强，不管曾犯下滔天罪恶，还是一生向善，他们个个都是货真价实的史塔克。布兰知道每个人的故事。他向来不怕墓窖的气氛，因为这是他家园的一部分，他本人的一部分。他一直都知道，将来有一天，自己会和他们安息在一起。

Their footsteps echoed through the cavernous crypts. The shadows behind them swallowed his father as the shadows ahead retreated to unveil other statues; no mere lords, these, but the old Kings in the North. On their brows they wore stone crowns. Torrhen Stark, the King Who Knelt. Edwyn the Spring King. Theon Stark, the Hungry Wolf. Brandon the Burner and Brandon the Shipwright. Jorah and Jonos, Brandon the Bad, Walton the Moon King, Edderion the Bridegroom, Eyron, Benjen the Sweet and Benjen the Bitter, King Edrick Snowbeard. Their faces were stern and strong, and some of them had done terrible things, but they were Starks every one, and Bran knew all their tales. He had never feared the crypts; they were part of his home and who he was, and he had always known that one day he would lie here too.

如今，他彷徨。如果我上去，还能下来吗？如果我死了，又该葬于何处？

But now he was not so certain. If I go up, will I ever come back down? Where will I go when I die?

“等等，”他们抵达通往地表的螺旋楼梯前——它的另一端直向地底，更为古老的君王就坐在那里的黑暗王座上——欧莎说，并将火把递给梅拉。“我去探路，”她的脚步渐行逐远，终至完全消失。“阿多，”阿多紧张地说。

“Wait,” Osha said when they reached the twisting stone stairs that led up to the surface, and down to the deeper levels where kings more ancient still sat their dark thrones. She handed Meera the torch. “I’ll grope my way up.” For a time they could hear the sound of her footfalls, but they grew softer and softer until they faded away entirely. “Hodor,” said Hodor nervously.

布兰上百次告诉自己有多讨厌藏在这黑暗的地方，有多希望重见阳光，骑乘小舞穿越风雨。但当出墓时刻近在眼前，他却害怕起来。身处暗处的安全感令他眷恋，倘若伸手不见五指，敌人又如何能找上门来？石头君主也给他勇气。虽然看不见，但他们一直都在。

Bran had told himself a hundred times how much he hated hiding down here in the dark, how much he wanted to see the sun again, to ride his horse through wind and rain. But now that the moment was upon him, he was afraid. He’d felt safe in the darkness; when you could not even find your own hand in front of your face, it was easy to believe that no enemies could ever find you either. And the stone lords had given him courage. Even when he could not see them, he had known they were there.

他们等了许久，方有声响再度传来。布兰已开始担心欧莎遇到不测。弟弟也不安地动来动去。“我要回家家！”他大声说。阿多把头晃个不停，说：“阿多。”脚步声逐渐增大，又过了一会儿，欧莎终于在光圈内出现。她一脸严肃，“有东西把门堵住了。我推不开。”

It seemed a long while before they heard anything again. Bran had begun to fear that something had happened to Osha. His brother was squirming restlessly. “I want to go home!” he said loudly. Hodor bobbed his head and said, “Hodor.” Then they heard the footsteps again, growing louder, and after a few minutes Osha emerged into the light, looking grim. “Something is blocking the door. I can’t move it.”

“让阿多上，他什么都推得动，”布兰道。

“Hodor can move anything,” said Bran.

欧莎审视了魁梧的马童一番。“或许吧，来。”

Osha gave the huge stableboy an appraising look. “Might be he can. Come on, then.”

楼梯狭窄，只能单列行走。欧莎带头，阿多随后，他背上的布兰连忙低头以防脑袋撞上天顶。梅拉执火把紧跟，玖健断后，牵着瑞肯。他们顺应石阶，一圈一圈地爬，不断向上。布兰似乎闻到烟味，但宽慰自己那只是火把在燃烧。

The steps were narrow, so they had to climb in single file. Osha led. Behind came Hodor, with Bran crouched low on his back so his head wouldn’t hit the ceiling. Meera followed with the torch, and Jojen brought up the rear, leading Rickon by the hand. Around and around they went, and up and up. Bran thought he could smell smoke now, but perhaps that was only the torch.

墓窖出口的大门乃是铁树制成，老旧而厚重，朝内倾斜，一次只容一人靠近。欧莎推了好几次，纹丝不动。“让阿多试试。”

The door to the crypts was made of ironwood. It was old and heavy, and lay at a slant to the ground. Only one person could approach it at a time. Osha tried once more when she reached it, but Bran could see that it was not budging. “Let Hodor try.”

他们先把布兰抱出来，以免受到波及。梅拉陪他坐在石阶上，一只手保护性地环住他的肩膀。欧莎和阿多换了位。“把门打开，阿多，”布兰说。

They had to pull Bran from his basket first, so he would not get squished. Meera squatted beside him on the steps, one arm thrown protectively across his shoulders, as Osha and Hodor traded places. “Open the door, Hodor,” Bran said.

高大的马童把两只手掌平放门上，使劲一推，咕哝几声。“阿多？”他一拳砸向木门，门只抖了抖。“阿多。”

The huge stableboy put both hands flat on the door, pushed, and grunted. “Hodor?” He slammed a fist against the wood, and it did not so much as jump. “Hodor.”

“用背顶，”布兰催促，“还有腿。”

“Use your back,” urged Bran. “And your legs.”

于是阿多转过身来，将背贴上大门，开始顶撞。一次，又一次。“阿多！”他将两腿在阶梯上高低错开，弯下腰来，顺着倾斜的门，竭力上顶。木头嘎吱呻吟。“阿多！”他将一只脚再下降一阶，两腿分得更开，紧着身子，直往上突。他面红耳赤，随着力道加强，脖子青筋暴出。“阿多阿多阿多阿多阿多阿多！”上方传来一声沉闷的轰隆，大门突然向外凹去，一束天光照在布兰脸上，令他无法视物。随着又一阵推挤，石头翻滚，通道完全敞开。欧莎二话不说，端起长矛朝外一戳，接着便冲出去，瑞肯钻过梅拉大腿也跟着跑。阿多用力把门完全拉开，之后才走上地面。黎德姐弟则留下来抱布兰走完最后几步阶梯。

Turning, Hodor put his back to the wood and shoved. Again. Again. “Hodor!” He put one foot on a higher step so he was bent under the slant of the door and tried to rise. This time the wood groaned and creaked. “Hodor!” The other foot came up a step, and Hodor spread his legs apart, braced, and straightened. His face turned red, and Bran could see cords in his neck bulging as he strained against the weight above him. “Hodor hodor hodor hodor hodor HODOR!” From above came a dull rumble. Then suddenly the door jerked upward and a shaft of daylight fell across Bran’s face, blinding him for a moment. Another shove brought the sound of shifting stone, and then the way was open. Osha poked her spear through and slid out after it, and Rickon squirmed through Meera’s legs to follow. Hodor shoved the door open all the way and stepped to the surface. The Reeds had to carry Bran up the last few steps.

天空灰白，浓烟滚滚。他们站在首堡——或者说首堡残骸——的阴影下。这座建筑半边全坍。院子里随处可见散落的石像鬼。它们和我从同一个地方摔下来，布兰触目惊心地想。雕像们碎得好彻底，他不禁怀疑自己为何能苟活。旁边，有群乌鸦在啄一具被乱石压住的尸体，他面目朝下，布兰认不出是谁。

The sky was a pale grey, and smoke eddied all around them. They stood in the shadow of the First Keep, or what remained of it. One whole side of the building had torn loose and fallen away. Stone and shattered gargoyles lay strewn across the yard. They fell just where I did, Bran thought when he saw them. Some of the gargoyles had broken into so many pieces it made him wonder how he was alive at all. Nearby some crows were pecking at a body crushed beneath the tumbled stone, but he lay facedown and Bran could not say who he was.

首堡已有数百年不曾使用，如今成为一具空壳。楼层焚毁，木梁燃尽，墙壁塌陷，可以直接看进房间，甚至看到厕所。在它后面，残塔依旧耸立，它早被烧过，现下竟成为惟一维持原状的部分。漫天烟雾呛得玖健·黎德咳嗽不止。“带我回家！”瑞肯要求，“我要回家家！”阿多边跺脚边转圈。“阿多，”他低声呜咽。他们挤在断垣残壁间，周围是无尽的死亡。

The First Keep had not been used for many hundreds of years, but now it was more of a shell than ever. The floors had burned inside it, and all the beams. Where the wall had fallen away, they could see right into the rooms, even into the privy. Yet behind, the broken tower still stood, no more burned than before. Jojen Reed was coughing from the smoke. “Take me home!” Rickon demanded. “I want to be home!” Hodor stomped in a circle. “Hodor,” he whimpered in a small voice. They stood huddled together with ruin and death all around them.

“我们弄出的声音只怕能吵醒睡龙，”欧莎说，“却没有人来。看来城堡真的焚烧毁灭，和布兰的梦一样。我们最好——”身后传来响动，她嘎然住嘴，立刻旋身，长矛在手。

“We made noise enough to wake a dragon,” Osha said, “but there’s no one come. The castle’s dead and burned, just as Bran dreamed, but we had best—” She broke off suddenly at a noise behind them, and whirled with her spear at the ready.

两个消瘦的黑影从残塔后浮现，缓缓跑过瓦砾堆。瑞肯开心地叫道：“毛毛！”，黑冰原狼报之以热情的冲撞。夏天走得较慢，他用脑袋挤挤布兰的胳膊，舔舔主人的脸。

Two lean dark shapes emerged from behind the broken tower, padding slowly through the rubble. Rickon gave a happy shout of “Shaggy!” and the black direwolf came bounding toward him. Summer advanced more slowly, rubbed his head up against Bran’s arm, and licked his face.

“我们得离开这里，”玖健道，“遍地死尸，很快会引来狼群，以及更危险的东西。”

“We should go,” said Jojen. “So much death will bring other wolves besides Summer and Shaggydog, and not all on four feet.”

“没错，得赶快上路，”欧莎同意，“但我们需要食物，城里应该留下不少。大家别分开。梅拉，你端好盾牌断后。”

“Aye, soon enough,” Osha agreed, “but we need food, and there may be some survived this. Stay together. Meera, keep your shield up and guard our backs.”

早晨剩下的时间里，他们绕着城堡仔细转了一圈。雄伟的大理石城墙仍旧健在，虽多处焦黑，但并未垮塌。墙内成了死亡和毁灭的展台。厅门化为焦炭，房椽消失无影，天花板压坠在地。玻璃花园的绿黄窗格全部粉碎，其中的树木、瓜果和鲜花要么断裂夭折，要么无遮无盖。茅草和木料盖的马厩荡然无存，故地只余灰烬、碎屑和马尸。布兰想起小舞，忍不住落泪。藏书塔下出现一个蒸汽腾腾的浅池，热水正从塔中裂口喷涌而出。连接钟楼和鸦巢的桥梁垮进下方庭院，钟楼旁鲁温师傅居住的塔楼也不见了。他们看见主堡下方的地窖窄窗内闪烁着阴暗的红光，某座库房的火势也未平息。

It took the rest of the morning to make a slow circuit of the castle. The great granite walls remained, blackened here and there by fire but otherwise untouched. But within, all was death and destruction. The doors of the Great Hall were charred and smoldering, and inside the rafters had given way and the whole roof had crashed down onto the floor. The green and yellow panes of the glass gardens were all in shards, the trees and fruits and flowers torn up or left exposed to die. Of the stables, made of wood and thatch, nothing remained but ashes, embers, and dead horses. Bran thought of his Dancer, and wanted to weep. There was a shallow steaming lake beneath the Library Tower, and hot water gushing from a crack in its side. The bridge between the Bell Tower and the rookery had collapsed into the yard below, and Maester Luwin’s turret was gone. They saw a dull red glow shining up through the narrow cellar windows beneath the Great Keep, and a second fire still burning in one of the storehouses.

在惨不忍睹的烟火废墟中，欧莎轻声叫唤，却始终无人应答。有只狗偎在一具尸体旁，不停地拱，但闻到冰原狼的气味拔腿就跑；其余的狗全死在狗舍里。学士的渡鸦正在尸体上大快朵颐，它们残塔上的近亲也应邀来参加宴会。布兰依稀认出麻脸提姆，他给人当面砍下一斧。圣堂的残壳外，坐着一具烧焦的尸体，它举起双手，握成两个焦黑的硬拳头，好似在殴打靠近的敌人。“诸神慈悲，”欧莎愤怒地低语，“让异鬼抓去犯罪的人！”

Osha called softly through the blowing smoke as they went, but no one answered. They saw one dog worrying at a corpse, but he ran when he caught the scents of the direwolves; the rest had been slain in the kennels. The maester’s ravens were paying court to some of the corpses, while the crows from the broken tower attended others. Bran recognized Poxy Tym, even though someone had taken an axe to his face. One charred corpse, outside the ashen shell of Mother’s sept, sat with his arms drawn up and his hands balled into hard black fists, as if to punch anyone who dared approach him. “If the gods are good,” Osha said in a low angry voice, “the Others will take them that did this work.”

“席恩，”布兰抑郁地说。

“It was Theon,” Bran said blackly.

“不对，你看。”她用长矛指指院子对面。“那是他手下的铁民。这儿也有。还有那边，那是葛雷乔伊的战马，看见吗？那匹浑身是箭的黑马。”她皱紧眉头，在死者之间穿梭。“黑罗伦在这里。”他被乱刀砍死，胡须染成红褐色。“临死还捎带几个，了不起。”欧莎用脚翻过旁边一具尸体，“上面有徽章小人儿一个，全身血红。”

“No. Look.” She pointed across the yard with her spear. “That’s one of his ironmen. And there. And that’s Greyjoy’s warhorse, see? The black one with the arrows in him.” She moved among the dead, frowning. “And here’s Black Lorren.” He had been hacked and cut so badly that his beard looked a reddish-brown now. “Took a few with him, he did.” Osha turned over one of the other corpses with her foot. “There’s a badge. A little man, all red.”

“是恐怖堡的剥皮人，”布兰说。

“The flayed man of the Dreadfort,” said Bran.

夏天狂吼一声，飞奔而去。

Summer howled, and darted away.

“神木林！”梅拉一手执盾，一手拿蛙矛，追赶冰原狼。余人随即跟上，穿过烟尘和落石。林中空气清新，虽然边沿有几棵松木被烧，但深处的润土和绿枝战胜了火焰。“这片树林有力量，”玖健道，似乎窥见了布兰的想法，“不逊烈火的力量。”

“The godswood.” Meera Reed ran after the direwolf, her shield and frog spear to hand. The rest of them trailed after, threading their way through smoke and fallen stones. The air was sweeter under the trees. A few pines along the edge of the wood had been scorched, but deeper in the damp soil and green wood had defeated the flames. “There is a power in living wood,” said Jojen Reed, almost as if he knew what Bran was thinking, “a power strong as fire.”

黑水池边，心树之下，鲁温师傅匍匐在泥地中。满地湿叶上，有一股弯曲的血迹，标示出爬行的轨道。夏天正在他身边，布兰乍一眼以为他死了，但梅拉伸手摸他脖子时，师傅却发出呻吟。“阿多？”阿多难过地说，“阿多？”

On the edge of the black pool, beneath the shelter of the heart tree, Maester Luwin lay on his belly in the dirt. A trail of blood twisted back through damp leaves where he had crawled. Summer stood over him, and Bran thought he was dead at first, but when Meera touched his throat, the maester moaned. “Hodor?” Hodor said mournfully. “Hodor?”

他们小心翼翼地抱起鲁温学士，让他靠坐在树旁。他一直灰眼灰发，袍子也是灰的，但如今鲜血浸染，通通成了暗红。“布兰，”师傅看见高踞在阿多背上的他，轻声唤道。“瑞肯，”他笑了，“诸神慈悲，我就知道……”

Gently, they eased Luwin onto his back. He had grey eyes and grey hair, and once his robes had been grey as well, but they were darker now where the blood had soaked through. “Bran,” he said softly when he saw him sitting tall on Hodor’s back. “And Rickon too.” He smiled. “The gods are good. I knew …”

“知道？”布兰疑惑地说。

“Knew?” said Bran uncertainly.

“那双腿，我认得出……衣服虽然吻合，但腿上的肌肉……可怜的孩子……”他边咳边吐血。“你们消失在……森林……这……怎么办到？”

“The legs, I could tell … the clothes fit, but the muscles in his legs … poor lad …” He coughed, and blood came up from inside him. “You vanished … in the woods … how, though?”

“我们根本没离开，”布兰说，“嗯，我们只走到林地边缘，便折回来。我派冰原狼去制造痕迹，然后大家躲进父亲的坟墓。”

“We never went,” said Bran. “Well, only to the edge, and then doubled back. I sent the wolves on to make a trail, but we hid in Father’s tomb.”

“原来是墓窖。”鲁温哈哈大笑，唇边冒出一连串带血的泡沫。师傅想动，却发出一阵尖锐而痛苦的喘息。

“The crypts.” Luwin chuckled, a froth of blood on his lips. When the maester tried to move, he gave a sharp gasp of pain.

泪水盈满了布兰眼眶。每当有人受伤，人们总来找老学士，可当师傅受伤时，又该去找谁呢？

Tears filled Bran’s eyes. When a man was hurt you took him to the maester, but what could you do when your maester was hurt?

“我们帮你做担架。”欧莎说。

“We’ll need to make a litter to carry him,” said Osha.

“不用，”鲁温道，“我快死了，女人。”

“No use,” said Luwin. “I’m dying, woman.”

“你不能死，”瑞肯恼火地说。“不，你不能死。”他身边的毛毛狗露出牙齿，跟着咆哮。

“You can’t,” said Rickon angrily. “No you can’t.” Beside him, Shaggydog bared his teeth and growled.

师傅朝他会心地微笑，“别吵啦，孩子，我活得比你长多了，也该……甘心地死去……”

The maester smiled. “Hush now, child, I’m much older than you. I can … die as I please.”

“阿多，蹲下，”布兰说。于是阿多跪在学士身边。

“Hodor, down,” said Bran. Hodor went to his knees beside the maester.

“听着，”鲁温对欧莎说，“两个王子……是罗柏的继承人。不能……不能走在一起……你听见吗？”

“Listen,” Luwin said to Osha, “the princes … Robb’s heirs. Not … not together … do you hear?”

女野人靠住长矛，“是，分开比较安全。但要带他们去哪儿？依我看，或许去赛文家的……”

The wildling woman leaned on her spear. “Aye. Safer apart. But where to take them? I’d thought, might be these Cerwyns …”

鲁温师傅努力摇头，牵起剧烈疼痛。“赛文家那孩子死了。罗德利克爵士，兰巴德·陶哈，霍伍德伯爵夫人……他们统统被杀。深林堡沦陷，卡林湾被夺，很快连托伦方城也保不住。磐石海岸有铁民。而东边……东边是波顿的私生子。”

Maester Luwin shook his head, though it was plain to see what the effort cost him. “Cerwyn boy’s dead. Ser Rodrik, Leobald Tallhart, Lady Hornwood … all slain. Deepwood fallen, Moat Cailin, soon Torrhen’s Square. Ironmen on the Stony Shore. And east, the Bastard of Bolton.”

“那我们该去哪儿？”欧莎问。

“Then where?” asked Osha.

“去白港……去找安柏家……我不知道……四处都在打仗……人人攻击友邻……而凛冬将至……好蠢啊，麻木，疯狂，愚蠢……”鲁温师傅伸手抓住布兰前臂，指尖有一种不顾一切的力量。“从今往后，你必须坚强……坚强！”

“White Harbor … the Umbers … I do not know … war everywhere … each man against his neighbor, and winter coming … such folly, such black mad folly …” Maester Luwin reached up and grasped Bran’s forearm, his fingers closing with a desperate strength. “You must be strong now. Strong.”

“我会的，”布兰说，几乎吐不出字句。罗德利克爵士被杀，鲁温师傅垂死，每个人，每个人都……

“I will be,” Bran said, though it was hard. Ser Rodrik killed and Maester Luwin, everyone, everyone …

“好样的，”师傅道，“好孩子。你果然是……你父亲的孩子，布兰。现在快走吧。”

“Good,” the maester said. “A good boy. Your … your father’s son, Bran. Now go.”

    欧莎举头凝视鱼梁木，望向雕刻在苍白树干上的红脸。“你留下来陪伴诸神？”

Osha gazed up at the weirwood, at the red face carved in the pale trunk. “And leave you for the gods?”

“我求你……”师傅在竭力忍耐，“一口……一点水喝，然后……帮忙……如果你愿意……”

“I beg …” The maester swallowed. “… a … a drink of water, and … another boon. If you would …”

“唉，”她转向梅拉，”把孩子们带走。”

“Aye.” She turned to Meera. “Take the boys.”

玖健和梅拉牵走瑞肯。阿多随后。他们穿过树林，低枝抽打布兰的脸庞，树叶则抹去他层层泪花。不一会儿，欧莎回到院子与他们会合，再没提起鲁温师傅。“阿多跟布兰一起，当他的双腿。”女野人明快地说，“我来保护瑞肯。”

Jojen and Meera led Rickon out between them. Hodor followed. Low branches whipped at Bran’s face as they pushed between the trees, and the leaves brushed away his tears. Osha joined them in the yard a few moments later. She said no word of Maester Luwin. “Hodor must stay with Bran, to be his legs,” the wildling woman said briskly. “I will take Rickon with me.”

“我们和布兰同行，”玖健·黎德道。

“We’ll go with Bran,” said Jojen Reed.

“啊，我想也是。”欧莎说。“我走东门，顺着国王大道走一段。”

“Aye, I thought you might,” said Osha. “Believe I’ll try the East Gate, and follow the kingsroad a ways.”

“我们走猎人门，”梅拉道。

“We’ll take the Hunter’s Gate,” said Meera.

“阿多，”阿多说。

“Hodor,” said Hodor.

大家去了厨房一趟。欧莎找到好几条虽然烤焦但勉强可食用的面包，甚至还有一只冷掉的烤鸭，她把它分成两半。梅拉掘出一坛蜂蜜和一大袋苹果。准备完毕后，他们互道珍重。瑞肯哭了，抱住阿多的腿不放手，直到欧莎用矛柄轻轻拍他，这才快步跟上。毛毛狗跟着弟弟。布兰目送他们远去，直到冰原狼的尾巴消失在残塔之后。

They stopped at the kitchens first. Osha found some loaves of burned bread that were still edible, and even a cold roast fowl that she ripped in half. Meera unearthed a crock of honey and a big sack of apples. Outside, they made their farewells. Rickon sobbed and clung to Hodor’s leg until Osha gave him a smack with the butt end of her spear. Then he followed her quick enough. Shaggydog stalked after them. The last Bran saw of them was the direwolf’s tail as it vanished behind the broken tower.

猎人门的铁闸被高热扭折变形，只能升起一尺，他们不得不一个接一个地从尖刺下挤过去。

The iron portcullis that closed the Hunter’s Gate had been warped so badly by heat it could not be raised more than a foot. They had to squeeze beneath its spikes, one by one.

“我们去找你父亲大人吗？”穿过城墙之间的吊桥时，布兰问，“去灰水望？”

“Will we go to your lord father?” Bran asked as they crossed the drawbridge between the walls. “To Greywater Watch?”

梅拉看着弟弟，寻求答案。“我们去北方，”玖健宣布。

Meera looked to her brother for the answer. “Our road is north,” Jojen announced.

进入狼林之前，布兰在篮子上回头，朝这座他生活了一辈子的城堡瞥了最后一眼。缕缕清烟继续爬上灰色长空，和清冷的秋日午后临冬城炊烟缭绕的情景并无二致。外墙箭孔有的被熏黑，不少城垛开裂塌落，但从远观之，城堡依旧是那般模样。高墙之后，堡垒和塔楼傲然耸立，一如千百年的沧桑岁月，劫掠和焚烧无法侵袭。好坚强的石头，布兰告诉自己，树木的根扎进地底，那里有冬境之王的宝座，是他们给了它力量。只要他们存在，临冬城便会不朽。它没有死，只是残破，和我一样，他想，我也没有死。

At the edge of the wolfswood, Bran turned in his basket for one last glimpse of the castle that had been his life. Wisps of smoke still rose into the grey sky, but no more than might have risen from Winterfell’s chimneys on a cold autumn afternoon. Soot stains marked some of the arrow loops, and here and there a crack or a missing merlon could be seen in the curtain wall, but it seemed little enough from this distance. Beyond, the tops of the keeps and towers still stood as they had for hundreds of years, and it was hard to tell that the castle had been sacked and burned at all. The stone is strong, Bran told himself, the roots of the trees go deep, and under the ground the Kings of Winter sit their thrones. So long as those remained, Winterfell remained. It was not dead, just broken. Like me, he thought. I’m not dead either.