I am looking for a maid of three-and-ten," she told the grey-haired goodwife beside the village well. "A highborn maid and very beautiful, with blue eyes and auburn hair. She may have been traveling with a portly knight of forty years, or perhaps with a fool. Have you seen her?"
“我在寻找一位十三岁处女，”她在村子的水井边对一名灰发主妇说，“非常美丽的贵族处女，蓝眼睛，枣红色头发。她可能跟一位身材肥胖、四十多岁的骑士一起赶路，也可能跟一个小丑在一起。你有没有见过她？
"Not as I recall, ser," the goodwife said, knuckling her forehead. "But I'll keep my eye out, that I will."
“我不见得见过他们，爵士先生，”主妇一边说，一边用指节叩了叩额头，“但我会留意，我会的。
The blacksmith had not seen her either, nor the septon in the village sept, the swineherd with his pigs, the girl pulling up onions from her garden, nor any of the other simple folk that the Maid of Tarth found amongst the daub-and-wattle huts of Rosby. Still, she persisted. This is the shortest road to Duskendale, Brienne told herself. If Sansa came this way, someone must have seen her. At the castle gates she posed her question to two spearmen whose badges showed three red chevronels on ermine, the arms of House Rosby. "If she's on the roads these days she won't be no maid for long," said the older man. The younger wanted to know if the girl had that auburn hair between her legs as well.
铁匠也没见过，乡村圣堂的修士、养猪的猪倌、菜园里拔洋葱的女孩通通都说没有见过，罗斯比村中到处是木条泥土搭成的小屋，塔斯之女在这里没有找到一丝线索。然而她坚持不肯放弃。这是到暮谷城的捷径，布蕾妮告诉自己，假如珊莎去那边寻求庇护或者坐船，一定会打这儿经过。在城堡门口，她询问两个长矛兵，他们的纹章是貂皮上三条“人”字红杠，属于罗斯比家族。“这年头，她要是在路上走动，早就不是什么处女了。”年长的那个说，年轻的则想知道，那女孩两腿间的毛发是否也是枣红色。
I will find no help here. As Brienne mounted up again, she glimpsed a skinny boy atop a piebald horse at the far end of the village. I have not talked with that one, she thought, but he vanished behind the sept before she could seek him out. She did not trouble to chase after him. Most like he knew no more than the others had. Rosby was scarce more than a wide place in the road; Sansa would have had no reason to linger here. Returning to the road, Brienne headed north and east past apple orchards and fields of barley, and soon left the village and its castle well behind. It was at Duskendale that she would find her quarry, she told herself. If she came this way at all.
我在这儿得不到帮助。布蕾妮跨上马背时，瞥到村子尽头有个瘦瘦的男孩骑在一匹花斑马上。我还没问他话，她心想，但不等过去，那男孩就消失在圣堂背后了。她没费力去追，多半他知道的也不比其他人多。罗斯比村几乎只算是大路旁的一片开阔地，珊莎没理由在此停留，于是布蕾妮重新上路，经过苹果园和大麦地向东北方前进，很快便将村子和城堡甩在了身后。到暮谷城才见分晓，她告诉自己，假设对方确实是往这个方向走的话。
"I will find the girl and keep her safe," Brienne had promised Ser Jaime, back at King's Landing. "For her lady mother's sake. And for yours." Noble words, but words were easy. Deeds were hard. She had lingered too long and learned too little in the city. I should have set out earlier… but to where? Sansa Stark had vanished on the night King Joffrey died, and if anyone had seen her since, or had any inkling where she might have gone, they were not talking. Not to me, at least.
“我会找到那女孩，护得她周全，”在君临，布蕾妮曾答应詹姆爵士，“为了她母亲大人。也为了您。”高尚的言辞，但说起来容易，做起来难。她在城中逗留得太久，打听到的消息却少之又少。我早该动身…但天海茫茫，往哪里去找？珊莎·史塔克在乔佛里国王死去当晚便消失得无影无踪，即使后来有谁见过她，或者略微知晓她的去向，也没有说出口。至少没跟我说。
Even if Sansa Stark had wanted to go home, how would she get there? The kingsroad was not safe; even a child would know that. The ironborn held Moat Cailin athwart the Neck, and at the Twins sat the Freys, who had murdered Sansa's brother and lady mother. The girl could go by sea if she had the coin, but the harbor at King's Landing was still in ruins, the river a jumble of broken quays and burned and sunken galleys. Brienne had asked along the docks, but no one could remember a ship leaving on the night King Joffrey died. A few trading ships were anchoring in the bay and off-loading by boat, one man told her, but more were continuing up the coast to Duskendale, where the port was busier than ever.
退一步说，即使珊莎·史塔克想回家，该怎么走呢？国王大道不安全，这是小孩子都知道的常识：铁民占据了横亘颈泽的卡林湾，孪河城为佛雷家族的地盘，他们是杀害珊莎的哥哥和母亲的元凶。假如她有钱，可以走海路，但君临的港口仍是一片废墟，黑水河内杂乱无章地塞满了支离破碎的木堤和焚毁沉没的战舰。布蕾妮沿码头询问，没人记得乔佛里国王死的那天晚上有船离开。少数几条商船泊在海湾里，用小舟卸货，有个人告诉她，更多船只沿着海岸继续前进，去往暮谷城，那里的港口从来没有这么繁忙过。
Brienne believed the girl had left the city. If she were still in King's Landing, the gold cloaks would have turned her up. She had to have gone elsewhere… but elsewhere is a big place. If I were a maiden newly flowered, alone and afraid, in desperate danger, what would I do? she had asked herself. Where would I go? For her, the answer came easy. She would make her way back to Tarth, to her father. Sansa's father had been beheaded whilst she watched, however. Her lady mother was dead too, murdered at the Twins, and Winterfell, the great Stark stronghold, had been sacked and burned, its people put to the sword. She has no home to run to, no father, no mother, no brothers. She might be in the next town, or on a ship to Asshai; one seemed as likely as the other.
布蕾妮相信那女孩已离开了都城。假如她仍在君临，无疑会被金袍子们揪出来。她一定得逃…但逃去哪里就很难说了。假设我是个月经初潮的处女，孤独恐惧，又处于极度危险之中，会怎么办呢？她扪心自问。我会去哪里？对她来说，答案很简单——回塔斯找父亲。然而珊莎目睹自己的生父被斩首，母亲大人也在孪河城遭遇谋害，史塔克家的根据地临冬城已被洗劫焚毁，居民屠杀殆尽。她无家可归，没有了父亲，没有了母亲，没有了兄弟姐妹。她也许就在下一个镇子，也许在前往亚夏的船上，一切皆有可能。
Brienne's mare was sweet to look upon and kept a pretty pace. There were more travelers than she would have thought. Begging brothers trundled by with their bowls dangling on thongs about their necks. A young septon galloped past upon a palfrey as fine as any lord's, and later she met a band of silent sisters who shook their heads when Brienne put her question to them. A train of oxcarts lumbered south with grain and sacks of wool, and later she passed a swineherd driving pigs, and an old woman in a horse litter with an escort of mounted guards. She asked all of them if they had seen a highborn girl of three-and-ten years with blue eyes and auburn hair. None had. She asked about the road ahead as well. "'Twixt here and Duskendale is safe enough," one man told her, "but past Duskendale there's outlaws, and broken men in the woods."
和詹姆说的不同，布蕾妮的母马外表其实不赖，并且它的确能保持相当快的步伐。旅人比她预想的多。乞丐帮的人们缓步而行，脖子上用绳索吊着碗。一个年轻修士飞驰而过，他的坐骑可以跟贵族领主的媲美。稍后，她遇到一群静默姐妹，布蕾妮开口询问，但她们全都摇头不知。一队牛车隆隆南行，满载着谷物和袋袋羊毛，后来她又经过一个赶猪群的猪倌，还有一个坐马车的老妇人，由一队骑马的卫兵护卫。她也向他们提问，是否看到一个十三岁的贵族处女，蓝眼睛，枣红色头发。没人看见。她又问了前方的路况。“从这到暮谷城还算安全，”有人告诉她，“但过了暮谷城，林子里就是土匪和残人的天下了。
Only the soldier pines and sentinels still showed green; the broadleaf trees had donned mantles of russet and gold, or else uncloaked themselves to scratch against the sky with branches brown and bare. Every gust of wind drove swirling clouds of dead leaves across the rutted road. They made a rustling sound as they scuttled past the hooves of the big bay mare that Jaime Lannister had bestowed on her. As easy to find one leaf in the wind as one girl lost in Westeros. She found herself wondering whether Jaime had given her this task as some cruel jape. Perhaps Sansa Stark was dead, beheaded for her part in King Joffrey's death, buried in some unmarked grave. How better to conceal her murder than by sending some big stupid wench from Tarth to find her?
郊外的士卒松和哨兵树仍有绿意，阔叶树则已披上褐色与金色的斗篷，甚或脱去了长袍，裸露的褐色枝干像爪子一样伸向天空。每当有风吹过，压满车辙的路面上便激荡起无数盘旋的枯叶。枯叶沙沙地从马蹄底下掠过，这匹大母马是詹姆·兰尼斯特赠予她的。在维斯特洛大地上寻找一个失踪的女孩，犹如在秋风中寻找一片落叶。她不由得怀疑，詹姆给她的任务是不是一个残酷的玩笑。也许珊莎已因与乔佛里国王之死有染而被悄悄处死，埋在某个无名墓地，然后再派塔斯的大块头蠢女人去找她，还有什么更好的方法来掩盖谋杀呢？
Near dusk she saw a campfire burning by a brook. Two men sat beside it grilling trout, their arms and armor stacked beneath a tree. One was old and one was somewhat younger, though far from young. The younger rose to greet her. He had a big belly straining at the laces of his spotted doeskin jerkin. A shaggy untrimmed beard covered his cheeks and chin, the color of old gold. "We have trout enough for three, ser," he called out.
黄昏时分，她看到一条小溪边上燃着篝火。两个人坐在火堆边烤鲑鱼，他们的武器防具堆在一棵树下。其中一个是老人，另一个没那么老，但也不算年轻。相对年轻的那个站起来跟她打招呼。他穿一件斑斑点点的鹿皮上衣，系带紧紧绷在大肚子上，乱蓬蓬未加修整的胡子覆盖了脸颊和下巴，颜色犹如陈旧的黄金。“我们的鲑鱼足够三个人吃，爵士。”他大喊。
Jaime would not do that. He was sincere. He gave me the sword, and called it Oathkeeper. Anyway, it made no matter. She had promised Lady Catelyn that she would bring back her daughters, and no promise was as solemn as one sworn to the dead. The younger girl was long dead, Jaime claimed; the Arya the Lannisters sent north to marry Roose Bolton's bastard was a fraud. That left only Sansa. Brienne had to find her.
不会的，詹姆不会这么做。他是个真诚的男人。他给了我这把宝剑，并将其命名为“守誓剑”。无论如何，这不是决定性因素。关键是她向凯特琳夫人发过誓，要把她的女儿们带回来，没什么比对死者的誓言更庄严的了。据詹姆说，那个妹妹老早就死了，兰尼斯特家送去北方跟卢斯·波顿的私生子结婚的艾莉亚是冒牌货。这样就只剩下珊莎。布蕾妮必须找到她。
It was not the first time Brienne had been mistaken for a man. She pulled off her greathelm, letting her hair spill free. It was yellow, the color of dirty straw, and near as brittle. Long and thin, it blew about her shoulders. "I thank you, ser."
这不是布蕾妮头一次被错认为男人。她摘下全盔，让头发坠落下来。她的头发是黄色，像肮脏的稻草，而且同样脆弱干枯。长而稀疏的发丝在她肩头飘荡。“感谢你，爵士。
"I took her for a knight as well," the older knight said, turning the trout.
“我也以为她是个骑士。”年长的骑士一边说，一边翻转鲑鱼。
The hedge knight squinted at her so earnestly that she realized he must be nearsighted. "A lady, is it? Armed and armored? Illy, gods be good, the size of her."
那雇佣骑士眯起眼睛仔仔细细地打量她，布蕾妮意识到对方一定是近视眼。“一位小姐，对吗？全副武装的小姐？诸神慈悲，伊利，看看她的个头。
Had Brienne been a man, she would have been called big; for a woman, she was huge. Freakish was the word she had heard all her life. She was broad in the shoulder and broader in the hips. Her legs were long, her arms thick. Her chest was more muscle than bosom. Her hands were big, her feet enormous. And she was ugly besides, with a freckled, horsey face and teeth that seemed almost too big for her mouth. She did not need to be reminded of any of that. "Sers," she said, "have you seen a maid of three-andten upon the road? She has blue eyes and auburn hair, and may have been in company with a portly red-faced man of forty years."
若布蕾妮是男人，也称得上大个子；作为女子，她就是个巨人。“怪胎”是她一生中听得最多的词。她肩膀宽，臀部更宽，腿长臂粗，胸肌比乳房发达，手掌脚掌也大得不像话。除此之外，她还很丑，长了一张布满雀斑的马脸，牙齿在嘴里显得太大。这些，她都无须别人提醒。“爵士先生们，”她说，“你们在路上有没有看见一个十三岁处女？她有蓝眼睛和枣红色头发，她或许跟一位身材肥胖、四十多岁的红脸男子在一起。
The nearsighted hedge knight scratched his head. "I recall no such maid. What sort of hair is auburn?"
近视眼的雇佣骑士挠挠头。“我不记得有这样的处女。此外，什么样的颜色算是枣红？
"Browny red," said the older man. "No, we saw her not."
“红棕色吧，”老人道，“不，我们没看到她。
If there was a song about Creighton Longbough, it was not one Brienne had heard. Their names meant no more to her than did their arms. Ser Creighton's green shield showed only a brown chief, and a deep gouge made by some battle-axe. Ser Illifer bore gold and ermine gyronny, though everything about him suggested that painted gold and painted ermine were the only sorts he'd ever known. He was sixty if he was a day, his face pinched and narrow beneath the hood of a patched roughspun mantle. Mail-clad he went, but flecks of rust spotted the iron like freckles. Brienne stood a head taller than either of them, and was better mounted and better armed in the bargain. If I fear the likes of these, I had as well swap my longsword for a pair of knitting needles.
即使真有关于克雷顿·朗勃的歌谣，布蕾妮也没听过。对她来说，他们的名字跟他们的纹章一样陌生。克雷顿爵士的绿盾顶部有一道棕色横幅，上面还有战斧劈出的深深裂痕；伊利佛爵士的盾牌上则画着黄金与白貂，然而看他的样子，估计不曾拥有过真正的金子或者貂皮。他少说有六十岁，脸又瘦又窄，头戴兜帽，连着一件打补丁的粗布斗篷，身穿的锁甲上斑斑点点的锈迹就像雀斑。布蕾妮比他俩都高一头，坐骑与装备也比他们精良。要我怕这样的人，除非长剑换成缝衣针。
"I have the honor to be Ser Creighton Longbough, of whom the singers sing," said the big-bellied one. "You will have heard of my deeds on the Blackwater, mayhaps. My companion is Ser Illifer the Penniless."
“我是有幸被歌手们传唱的克雷顿·朗勃爵士，”大肚子道，“也许你晓得我在黑水河上的事迹。我的伙伴是‘穷鬼’伊利佛爵士。
"We saw her not, m'lady," the younger told her. "Come, dismount, the fish is almost done. Are you hungry?"
“我们没看到她，小姐，”较年轻的人确认，“来吧，下马来，鱼快好了。你饿不饿？
She was, as it happened, but she was wary as well. Hedge knights had an unsavory reputation. "A hedge knight and a robber knight are two sides of the same sword," it was said. These two do not look too dangerous. "Might I know your names, sers?"
她确实肚饿，但不敢放松警惕。雇佣骑士名声不佳。人们常说：“雇佣骑士和强盗骑士乃是同一把剑的两面。”这两个人看起来不太危险。“对不起，该怎么称呼，爵士先生们？
"I thank you, good sers," she said. "I will gladly share your trout." Swinging down, Brienne unsaddled her mare and watered her before hobbling her to graze. She stacked her arms and shield and saddlebags beneath an elm. By then the trout was crisply done. Ser Creighton brought her a fish, and she sat cross-legged on the ground to eat it.
“非常感谢你们，尊敬的爵士，”她说，“我很乐意分享鲑鱼。”布蕾妮甩腿下马。她先将鞍配从母马背上卸下，然后喂它喝水，再拴好绳索放它吃草。她把武器、盾牌和鞍囊堆在一棵榆树下。此刻，鲑鱼已烤得松松脆脆。克雷顿爵士递给她一条鱼，她盘腿坐在地上大啖。
Brienne could have told him more about the perils of the roads than he might have cared to know. "I thank you, ser, but I have no need of your protection."
关于路上有多危险，布蕾妮可以告诉他更多详情，而且他听了决不会喜欢。“谢谢你们的好意，爵士先生，但我不需要你们的保护。
She touched her sword hilt. "This will defend me, ser."
她摸摸剑带。“这个可以保护我，爵士。
"We are bound for Duskendale, m'lady," Longbough told her, as he pulled apart his own trout with his fingers. "You would do well to ride with us. The roads are perilous."
“我们去暮谷城，小姐，”朗勃一边说，一边用手指撕开自己的鲑鱼，“你跟我们同行比较好。路上很危险。
"I insist. A true knight must defend the gentler sex."
“我坚持意见。真正的骑士会保护柔弱的女生。
"A sword is only as good as the man who wields it."
“剑的作用取决于挥它的人。
"As you will. It would not be courteous to argue with a lady. We will see you safe to Duskendale. Three together may ride more safely than one alone."
“你想怎么说就怎么说吧——跟女士争执是很无礼的。我们会把你安全地送到暮谷城，三人同行比独自一人更安全。
"I wield it well enough."
“我的剑术相当不错。
We were three when we set out from Riverrun, yet Jaime lost his hand and Cleos Frey his life. "Your mounts could not keep up with mine." Ser Creighton's brown gelding was an old swaybacked creature with rheumy eyes, and Ser Illifer's horse looked weedy and half-starved.
我们从奔流城出发时也是三人，然而詹姆失去一只手，克里奥·佛雷丢了性命。“你们的坐骑跟不上我。”克雷顿爵士的棕色骟马衰老羸弱，眼神迷离；伊利佛爵士的马则看上去骨瘦如柴，一副没吃饱的模样。
Ser Illifer crooked a bony finger at her shield. Though its paint was cracked and peeling, the device it bore showed plain: a black bat on a field divided bendwise, silver and gold. "You bear a liar's shield, to which you have no right. My grandfather's grandfather helped kill the last o' Lothston. None since has dared to show that bat, black as the deeds of them that bore it."
伊利佛爵士弯起一根瘦骨嶙岣的手指头，指了指她的盾牌。尽管盾牌的涂料碎裂剥落，图案还是很清楚：金银对角斜分的底面上一只大黑蝙蝠。“你拿着说谎者的盾牌，它不属于你。我祖父的祖父帮忙击杀了最后一个罗斯坦家的人，此后没人再敢亮出那只蝙蝠，因为他们家族所干的事跟那蝙蝠一般漆黑。
"My steed served me well enough on the Blackwater," Ser Creighton insisted. "Why, I did great carnage there and won a dozen ransoms. Was m'lady familiar with Ser Herbert Bolling? You shall never meet him now. I slew him where he stood. When swords clash, you shall ne'er find Ser Creighton Longbough to the rear."
“在黑水河，我的战马表现得相当出色，”克雷顿爵士坚持，“我在那儿大开杀戒，还赚了十几个人的赎金。赫伯特·波林爵士你熟不熟，小姐？你再也见不到他了，因为我把他当场击毙。记住，当刀剑相交之时，克雷顿·朗勃爵士决不会躲在后方。
The shield was the one Ser Jaime had taken from the armory at Harrenhal. Brienne had found it in the stables with her mare, along with much else; saddle and bridle, chainmail hauberk and visored greathelm, purses of gold and silver and a parchment more valuable than either. "I lost mine own shield," she explained.
这面盾牌是詹姆爵士从赫伦堡的军械库挖出来的。布蕾妮在马厩里发现它跟那匹母马在一起，外加许多装备；马鞍，辔头，锁甲，带护面的全盔，两袋金银币，还有一张比金银更珍贵的羊皮纸。“我丢失了自己的盾。”她解释。
His companion gave a dry chuckle. "Creigh, leave off. The likes o' her has no need for the likes o' us."
他的同伴咯咯干笑。“克雷，算了吧。她这种人不需要我们作伴。
"The likes of me?" Brienne was uncertain what he meant.
“我这种人？”布蕾妮不大确定他是什么意思。
"A true knight is the only shield a maiden needs," declared Ser Creighton stoutly.
“真正的骑士就是女士的护盾。”克雷顿爵士顽固地说。
Ser Illifer paid him no mind. "A barefoot man looks for a boot, a chilly man a cloak. But who would cloak themselves in shame? Lord Lucas bore that bat, the Pander, and Manfryd o' the Black Hood, his son. Why wear such arms, I ask myself, unless your own sin is fouler still… and fresher." He unsheathed his dagger, an ugly piece of cheap iron. "A woman freakish big and freakish strong who hides her own true colors. Creigh, behold the Maid o' Tarth, who opened Renly's royal throat for him."
伊利佛爵士浑不理会。“赤脚的人找靴子，受冻的人寻斗篷，但谁会甘愿让自己蒙羞？‘皮条客’卢卡斯伯爵的徽纹是这只蝙蝠，还有他儿子‘黑帽’曼佛利。我不由得扪心自问，为什么你要佩戴它？除非你的罪行更加丑恶…只怕就是新近的事。”他拔出匕首，那是一柄难看的廉价铁家伙。“一个高大强壮的怪女人，又掩藏自己的真实身份。克雷，瞧好了，此乃割开蓝礼殿下喉咙的‘塔斯之女’。
"That is a lie." Renly Baratheon had been more than a king to her. She had loved him since first he came to Tarth on his leisurely lord's progress, to mark his coming of age. Her father welcomed him with a feast and commanded her to attend; elsewise she would have hidden in her room like some wounded beast. She had been no older than Sansa, more afraid of sniggers than of swords. They will know about the rose, she told Lord Selwyn, they will laugh at me. But the Evenstar would not relent.
“那是谎言！”蓝礼·拜拉席恩对她来说不只是国王。当这位悠闲从容的公爵为履行成年仪式，第一次来到塔斯时，她就爱上了他。她父亲举办欢迎宴会，并命令她参加，要不然她会像受伤的动物一样躲在房里。当时她跟珊莎差不多年纪，害怕窃笑更甚于刀剑。他们会知道玫瑰的事，她告诉塞尔温大人，他们会嘲笑我。但“暮之星”不肯让步。
And Renly Baratheon had shown her every courtesy, as if she were a proper maid, and pretty. He even danced with her, and in his arms she'd felt graceful, and her feet had floated across the floor. Later others begged a dance of her, because of his example. From that day forth, she wanted only to be close to Lord Renly, to serve him and protect him. But in the end she failed him. Renly died in my arms, but I did not kill him, she thought, but these hedge knights would never understand. "I would have given my life for King Renly, and died happy," she said. "I did no harm to him. I swear it by my sword."
蓝礼·拜拉席恩对她彬彬有礼，当她是个正常的美丽处女，他甚至与她共舞，在他臂弯中，她感觉优雅高贵，双脚踏出流畅的舞步。由于公爵的榜样，其他人也纷纷前来邀请她。自那天起，她便只想待在蓝礼大人身边，为他效力，保护他的安全。但到头来，她仍然辜负了他。蓝礼死在我怀中，但他不是我杀的，她心想，这些雇佣骑士永远不会明白。“我愿为蓝礼国王献出生命，愉快赴死，”她说，“我没有伤害他。我凭自己的宝剑起誓。
"A knight swears by his sword," Ser Creighton said.
“骑士才凭宝剑起誓。”克雷顿爵士说。
"Swear it by the Seven," urged Ser Illifer the Penniless.
“以七神的名义起誓。”‘穷鬼’伊利佛爵士催促。
"By the Seven, then. I did no harm to King Renly. I swear it by the Mother. May I never know her mercy if I lie. I swear it by the Father, and ask that he might judge me justly. I swear it by the Maiden and Crone, by the Smith and the Warrior. And I swear it by the Stranger, may he take me now if I am false."
“那好，我以七神的名义起誓，并未伤害蓝礼国王。以圣母之名，倘若我口吐谎言，便永远无法获得她的仁慈；以天父之名，请求他给予我公正的裁判；以处女与老妪之名，以铁匠与战士之名，也以陌客之名——倘若我所言有假，愿即刻被他掠走。
"Aye." Ser Illifer the Penniless gave a shrug. "Well, if she's lied, the gods will sort her out." He slipped his dagger back away. "The first watch is yours."
“对。”‘穷鬼’伊利佛爵士耸耸肩。“嗯，假如她撒谎，诸神自会处理。”他将匕首收回去。“第一哨归你。
"She swears well, for a maid," Ser Creighton allowed.
“就一个女孩来说，她发起誓来倒有模有样的。”克雷顿爵士承认。
As the hedge knights slept, Brienne paced restlessly around the little camp, listening to the crackle of the fire. I should ride on whilst I can. She did not know these men, yet she could not bring herself to leave them undefended. Even in the black of night, there were riders on the road, and noises in the woods that might or might not have been owls and prowling foxes. So Brienne paced, and kept her blade loose in its scabbard.
雇佣骑士们睡觉时，布蕾妮不安地绕着小营地转圈，听着火堆的噼啪声。我应该尽快赶路。这两个人她不熟悉，然而在他们毫无防备的情况下，她无法撇下他们不管。因为在漆黑的夜晚，路上也有骑马的人，树林里也有各种动静，或许是猫头鹰，或许是游荡的狐狸，或许都不是。因此，布蕾妮来回踱步，保持长剑能随时出鞘。
Her watch was easy, all in all. It was after that was hard, when Ser Illifer woke and said he would relieve her. Brienne spread a blanket on the ground, and curled up to close her eyes. I will not sleep, she told herself, bone weary though she was. She had never slept easily in the presence of men. Even in Lord Renly's camps, the risk of rape was always there. It was a lesson she had learned beneath the walls of Highgarden, and again when she and Jaime had fallen into the hands of the Brave Companions.
总的来说，守夜还算容易，等伊利佛爵士醒过来替换她之后，才是最困难的。布蕾妮将毯子铺在地上，蜷起身子，闭上眼睛。尽管已疲倦到骨子里，她仍告诉自己，我不能睡。有男人的地方，她从来不能安心睡觉。即使在蓝礼公爵的营地，也总有被强暴的危险。这是她在高庭城下学到的教训，和詹姆一起落入“勇士团”手中时又学了一次。
The cold in the earth seeped through Brienne's blankets to soak into her bones. Before long every muscle felt clenched and cramped, from her jaw down to her toes. She wondered whether Sansa Stark was cold as well, wherever she might be. Lady Catelyn had said that Sansa was a gentle soul who loved lemon cakes, silken gowns, and songs of chivalry, yet the girl had seen her father's head lopped off and been forced to marry one of his killers afterward. If half the tales were true, the dwarf was the cruelest Lannister of all. If she did poison King Joffrey, the Imp surely forced her hand. She was alone and friendless at that court. In King's Landing, Brienne had hunted down a certain Brella, who had been one of Sansa's maids. The woman told her that there was little warmth between Sansa and the dwarf. Perhaps she had been fleeing him as well as Joffrey's murder.
泥地的寒气透过毯子渗入布蕾妮的骨头。没过多久，上至下巴，下至脚趾，每块肌肉都绷得紧紧的。她心想，不知珊莎·史塔克身在何处，是否也感觉到冷。凯特琳夫人说过，珊莎是个小淑女，随时随地都有礼貌，喜爱柠檬蛋糕、丝绸长裙和歌颂骑士精神的歌谣，然而这女孩目睹父亲的头颅被砍下，之后又被迫嫁给凶手之一。假如传说有一半属实，这个侏儒就是兰尼斯特家族中最最残酷的人。如果她真的向乔佛里国王下毒，一定受到小恶魔的胁迫。毕竟她在宫中孤身一人，无依无靠。在君临城，她追查到一个名叫贝蕾娜的女子，珊莎的侍女之一。那女人告诉她，珊莎跟侏儒之间毫无感情可言。或许她逃跑既是因为乔佛里的谋杀案，也是为了逃离他。
Whatever dreams Brienne dreamed were gone when dawn awoke her. Her legs were stiff as wood from the cold ground, but no one had molested her, and her goods remained untouched. The hedge knights were up and about. Ser Illifer was cutting up a squirrel for breakfast, while Ser Creighton stood facing a tree, having himself a good long piss. Hedge knights, she thought, old and vain and plump and nearsighted, yet decent men for all that. It cheered her to know that there were still decent men in the world.
黎明将布蕾妮唤醒，她做过梦，但梦境都不记得了。她的腿被冰冷的地面冻得像木头一样僵硬，但人没受骚扰，物品也没被动过。雇佣骑士们已经起床，伊利佛爵士在宰杀一只松鼠当早餐，克雷顿爵士则面朝大树撒一泡长尿。雇佣骑士，她心想，尽管一个年迈而自负，一个肥胖又近视，但他们是好人。发现世上仍有好人，让她感到欣慰。
When time came to resume their journey, the knights fell in on either side of her, like guards protecting some great lady… though this lady dwarfed both of her protectors and was better armed and armored in the nonce. "Did anyone pass by during your watches?" Brienne asked them.
继续上路时，两个骑士分别走在她两侧，就像卫士保护贵妇人…只是这位贵妇人的个头比两个卫士更高，武器与盔甲也比他们的好。“你们守夜时有人经过吗？”布蕾妮问。
"Such as a maid of three-and-ten, with auburn hair?" said Ser Illifer the Penniless. "No, my lady. No one."
“比方说十三岁、枣红色头发的处女？”‘穷鬼’伊利佛道，“不，小姐。没有。
They broke their fast on roast squirrel, acorn paste, and pickles, whilst Ser Creighton regaled her with his exploits on the Blackwater, where he had slain a dozen fearsome knights that she had never heard of. "Oh, it was a rare fight, m'lady," he said, "a rare and bloody fray." He allowed that Ser Illifer had fought nobly in the battle as well. Illifer himself said little.
他们早餐吃烤松鼠、橡果面饼和腌菜，与此同时，克雷顿爵士喋喋不休地向她介绍自己在黑水河的英勇事迹，他杀死了十来个布蕾妮从没听说过的可怕骑士。“哦，那是场罕见的大战，小姐，”他说，“一场罕见而血腥的厮杀。”他承认伊利佛爵士也在此役中英勇奋战。伊利佛本人什么也没说。
"I had a few," Ser Creighton put in. "Some farm boy on a piebald horse went by, and an hour later half a dozen men afoot with staves and scythes. They caught sight of our fire, and stopped for a long look at our horses, but I showed them a glimpse of my steel and told them to be along their way. Rough fellows, by the look o' them, and desperate too, but ne'er so desperate as to trifle with Ser Creighton Longbough."
“我守夜时有一些，”克雷顿插话，“有个农家小子骑匹花斑马经过，一小时后，又有六七个步行的男子，拿着棍棒和镰刀。他们看到了我们的火堆，停下来盯着我们的马打量许久，我稍稍亮了亮铁家伙，叫他们继续赶路。看样子是群野汉子，亡命徒，但没有野到小看我克雷顿·朗勃爵士的地步。
"Voices, raised in prayer." Brienne knew the chant. They are beseeching the Warrior for protection, asking the Crone to light their way.
“人，有人在高声祈祷。”布蕾妮熟悉这些颂词。他们祈求战士保护，恳请老妪照亮前路。
Ser Illifer the Penniless bared his battered blade and reined in his horse to wait their coming. "They are close now."
“穷鬼”伊利佛爵士亮出他那把伤痕累累的剑，勒马等待。“他们靠近了。
It was midday when Brienne heard chanting drifting through the bare brown trees. "What is that sound?" Ser Creighton asked.
正午时分，布蕾妮听见光秃秃的棕色树丛中飘来唱诵。“什么声音？”克雷顿爵士问。
No, Brienne thought, not so desperate as that. She turned away to hide her smile. Thankfully, Ser Creighton was too intent on the tale of his epic battle with the Knight of the Red Chicken to make note of the maiden's mirth. It felt good to have companions on the road, even such companions as these two.
是啊，布蕾妮心想，没到那种地步。她侧过头，以遮掩微笑。幸亏克雷顿爵士太专注于叙述他与红鸡骑士之间史诗般的战斗，因而没留意到她的笑容。路上有人结伴同行感觉很好，即使是这样两个家伙。
The chanting filled the woods like pious thunder. And suddenly the source of the sound appeared in the road ahead. A group of begging brothers led the way, scruffy bearded men in roughspun robes, some barefoot and some in sandals. Behind them marched threescore ragged men, women, and children, a spotted sow, and several sheep. Several of the men had axes, and more had crude wooden clubs and cudgels. In their midst there rolled a two-wheeled wayn of grey and splintered wood, piled high with skulls and broken bits of bone. When they saw the hedge knights, the begging brothers halted, and the chanting died away. "Good knights," one said, "the Mother loves you."
虔诚的唱诵声逐渐充斥树林，如同闷雷。突然间，声音的源头出现在道路前方。一群肮脏邋遢的乞丐帮兄弟当先领头，他们留大胡子，穿粗布长袍，有的赤脚，有的趿便鞋。后面走着大约六十个衣衫褴褛的男人、女人和小孩，还有一头花斑大母猪，几只绵羊。有几个男人拿着斧子，更多的拿粗糙的木头棍棒。他们中间有一辆用灰色碎木头做的双轮拖车，上面高高地堆满骷髅头和零零星星的断骨。看到雇佣骑士，乞丐帮兄弟们停下来，唱诵声渐渐平息。“尊敬的骑士，”其中一个乞丐说，“愿圣母爱怜你们。
"Poor fellows," said a big man with an axe. Despite the chill of the autumnal wood, he was shirtless, and on his breast was carved a seven-pointed star. Andal warriors had carved such stars in their flesh when first they crossed the narrow sea to overwhelm the kingdoms of the First Men.
“我们是穷人集会。”一个拿斧子的魁梧男人应道。虽然秋天的树林清寒萧瑟，他却没穿上衣，胸口刻着一颗七芒星。当初安达尔战士渡过狭海，征服先民的七大王国时，他们胸口就刻着这样的七芒星。
"And you, brother," said Ser Illifer. "Who are you?"
“圣母也爱你，兄弟，”伊利佛爵士道，“你们是谁？
"We were bound for Duskendale," declared Ser Creighton, "but mayhaps we could see you safely to King's Landing."
“我们要去暮谷城，”克雷顿爵士宣告，“但或许可以先护送你们安全抵达君临。
"Join us, friends," urged a spare small man in a threadbare septon's robe, who wore a crystal on a thong about his neck. "Westeros has need of every sword."
“加入我们吧，朋友们，”一个瘦小的男子催促，他身穿破旧的修士袍，脖子上挂着一颗水晶，“维斯特洛需要每一位战士。
"We are marching to the city," said a tall woman in the traces of the wayn, "to bring these holy bones to Blessed Baelor, and seek succor and protection from the king."
“我们正朝都城迸发，”一个拉拖车的高个子女人说，“把这些圣骨带去贝勒大圣堂，并向国王寻求援助和保护。
Ser Creighton was lost. "Sparrows?"
克雷顿爵士迷惑不解。“麻雀？
"Sparrows need no gold," the septon said.
“麻雀无须金钱。”修士说。
"If you have the coin to pay us for this escort," added Ser Illifer, who seemed practical as well as penniless.
“假如你们有钱付费。”伊利佛爵士补充，看来他不仅穷而且很现实。
"The sparrow is the humblest and most common of birds, as we are the humblest and most common of men." The septon had a lean sharp face and a short beard, grizzled grey and brown. His thin hair was pulled back and knotted behind his head, and his feet were bare and black, gnarled and hard as tree roots. "These are the bones of holy men, murdered for their faith. They served the Seven even unto death. Some starved, some were tortured. Septs have been despoiled, maidens and mothers raped by godless men and demon worshipers. Even silent sisters have been molested. Our Mother Above cries out in her anguish. It is time for all anointed knights to forsake their worldly masters and defend our Holy Faith. Come with us to the city, if you love the Seven."
“麻雀是最普通、最卑微的鸟，而我们是最普通、最卑徽的人。”那修士有一张精瘦而棱角分明的脸，留着灰褐色短胡子，稀疏的头发梳到脑后，扎成一个结，一双黑糊糊的光脚如树根般坚硬粗糙。“这些骨头属于那些虔敬神灵的圣人，他们因信仰而遇害，但至死不改为七神服务的决心。有些是饿死，有些被折磨致命。教堂遭到掠夺，处女和母亲被亵渎神灵、崇拜恶魔的家伙强暴，连静默姐妹也受到骚扰。天上的圣母发出悲痛的呼吁，是时候了，所有涂抹圣油的骑士都应该弃绝世俗的领主，前来守卫我们神圣的教会。假如你们热爱七神，就随我们一起去都城吧。
The barefoot septon calmed them with a word. "Judge not, for judgment is the Father's. Let them pass in peace. They are poor fellows too, lost upon the earth."
光脚修士以言语安抚众人，“勿需裁判，裁判之职属于天父。让他们安稳地过去吧，他们也是穷人，只不过在尘世之中迷路了而已。
"I love them well enough," said Illifer, "yet I must eat."
“我很爱七神，”伊利佛说，“但我得吃饭。
"So must all the Mother's children."
“圣母的孩子都要吃饭，天下正有很多人吃不上饭。
One of the begging brothers spat, and a woman gave a moan. "You are false knights," said the big man with the star carved on his chest. Several others brandished their cudgels.
一个乞丐帮兄弟啐了口唾沫，一个女人发出哀叹。“你们是虚伪的骑士。”胸口刻七芒星的魁梧男子说，另外几人挥舞棍棒。
"All the Mother's children are fair to look upon. May the Maiden watch over this poor girl… and you as well, I think." The septon lifted one of the traces of the wayn upon his shoulder, and began to pull. The begging brothers took up the chant once more. Brienne and the hedge knights sat upon their horses as the procession moved slowly past, following the rutted road toward Rosby. The sound of their chanting slowly dwindled away and died.
“圣母的孩子看上去都俊俏。愿圣母守护这可怜的女孩…也守护你。”修士抓起拖车前的一根索具，搭到肩上，继续用力拖拉。乞丐帮兄弟们也重新开始唱诵。布蕾妮和雇佣骑士们坐在马背上，目睹队伍缓缓经过，沿着压满车辙的道路向罗斯比前进。最后，唱诵声逐渐减弱。
Brienne edged her mare forward. "My sister is lost as well. A girl of three-and-ten with auburn hair, fair to look upon."
布蕾妮稍稍催马向前。“我妹妹迷路了。她年方十三，枣红色头发，看上去很俊俏。
"We are bound for Duskendale," Ser Illifer said flatly.
“我们去暮谷城。”伊利佛爵士断然道。
Brienne knew what sort. Near Maidenpool, she recalled, the Brave Companions had strung a septon up by his heels from the limb of a tree and used his corpse for archery practice. She wondered if his bones were piled in that wayn with all the rest.
布蕾妮知道是什么样的人。记得在女泉城附近，勇士团捆住一个修士的脚踝，倒吊在树杈上，用来当靶子，练习射箭。她不知道他的骨头是否也跟其他骸骨一起堆在那辆拖车里。
"A man would need to be a fool to rape a silent sister," Ser Creighton was saying. "Even to lay hands upon one… it's said they are the Stranger's wives, and their female parts are cold and wet as ice." He glanced at Brienne. "Uh… beg pardon."
“强暴静默姐妹的一定是白痴智障，”克雷顿爵士说，“哪怕只是动手…都说她们是陌客的老婆，下面又冷又湿，就像冰块。”他瞥了瞥布蕾妮。“呃…请原谅。
Ser Creighton lifted one cheek off the saddle to scratch his arse. "What sort of man would slay a holy septon?"
克雷顿爵士从马鞍上抬起一边屁股挠了挠，“什么样的人会杀害神圣的修士？
Brienne spurred her mare toward Duskendale. After a moment, Ser Illifer followed, and Ser Creighton came bringing up the rear.
布蕾妮催马朝暮谷城方向飞驰而去。过了一会儿，伊利佛爵士跟上来，克雷顿爵士押后。
Three hours later they came up upon another party struggling toward Duskendale; a merchant and his serving men, accompanied by yet another hedge knight. The merchant rode a dappled grey mare, whilst his servants took turns pulling his wagon. Four labored in the traces as the other two walked beside the wheels, but when they heard the sound of horses they formed up around the wagon with quarterstaffs of ash at the ready. The merchant produced a crossbow, the knight a blade. "You will forgive me if I am suspicious," called the merchant, "but the times are troubled, and I have only good Ser Shadrich to defend me. Who are you?"
三小时之后，他们遇到另一群艰难地向着暮谷城前进的人：一个商人和他的仆人们，另外还有一个雇佣骑士同行。商人骑灰斑母马，仆人们轮流拉货车。四个在前面拖，两个跟在轮子旁边，但当他们听见马蹄声，立即在货车周围摆好阵形，手执岑木杖，做好了应战的准备。商人取出一把十字弓，骑士则拔出长剑。“请原谅我的多疑，”商人嚷道，“但时下局势不稳，我又只有尊敬的夏德里奇爵士保护。你们是谁？
"I am searching for my sister." She dared not mention Sansa's name, with her accused of regicide. "She is a highborn maid and beautiful, with blue eyes and auburn hair. Perhaps you saw her with a portly knight of forty years, or a drunken fool."
“我在找我妹妹。”她不敢提珊莎的名字，因为珊莎被控弑君。“她是个美丽的贵族处女，蓝眼睛，枣红色头发。也许你会看到她跟一位身材肥胖、四十多岁的骑士在一起，或者跟一个醉醺醺的小丑。
"Why," Ser Creighton said, affronted, "I am the famous Ser Creighton Longbough, fresh from battle on the Blackwater, and this is my companion, Ser Illifer the Penniless."
“啊，”克雷顿爵士委屈地说，“我是前不久在黑水河战役中成名的克雷顿·朗勃爵士，这位是我的伙伴，‘穷鬼’伊利佛爵士。
"We mean you no harm," said Brienne.
“我们没有恶意。”布蕾妮道。
"The roads are full of drunken fools and despoiled maidens. As to portly knights, it is hard for any honest man to keep his belly round when so many lack for food… though your Ser Creighton has not hungered, it would seem."
“路上多的是醉醺醺的小丑和被开苞的处女。至于身材肥胖的骑士，大家都在挨饿，正派人很难填饱肚子…不过看样子，你们的克雷顿爵士倒没被饿着。
The merchant considered her doubtfully. "My lady, you should be safe at home. Why do you wear such unnatural garb?"
商人怀疑地打量着她。“小姐，你应该安安全全地待在家里。为何打扮得如此古怪？
Four blades, thought Brienne, but she held her tongue.
四把，布蕾妮心里想，没有开口。
"I have big bones," Ser Creighton insisted. "Shall we ride together for a time? I do not doubt Ser Shadrich's valor, but he seems small, and three blades are better than one."
“那是因为我骨架大，”克雷顿爵士强调。“要不我们同行一程？哦，我不怀疑夏德里奇爵士的勇敢，但他看起来个子小了点儿，而且三把剑总好过一把。
"Oh, these three are nought to fear." Ser Shadrich was a wiry, fox-faced man with a sharp nose and a shock of orange hair, mounted on a rangy chestnut courser. Though he could not have been more than five foot two, he had a cocksure manner. "The one is old, t'other fat, and the big one is a woman. Let them come."
“噢，我说不用怕这三个家伙。”夏德里奇爵士瘦瘦的，长着狐狸脸、尖鼻子和乱蓬蓬的橙色头发，骑在一匹四肢瘦长的栗色战马上。尽管他身高不过五尺二寸，却有一副自信满满的架势。“一老头，一胖子，大个的是女人。让他们来吧。
The merchant looked to his escort. "What say you, ser?"
商人望向他的护卫，“你怎么说，爵士？
As they resumed their journey, the hired knight dropped back and looked her up and down as if she were a side of good salt pork. "You're a strapping healthy wench, I'd say."
继续上路后，商人雇佣的骑士放慢速度，骑到她身边，上上下下地打量，仿佛当她是一大片优质腌猪肉。“我说，你是个健壮魁梧的妞儿。
Ser Jaime's mockery had cut her deep; the little man's words hardly touched her. "A giant, compared to some." He laughed. "I am big enough where it counts, wench."
詹姆爵士的嘲讽曾经深深地刺伤她，这小个子男人的话对她则一点作用也没有，“没错，和某人相比，我是个巨人。”骑士哈哈大笑，“我的那活儿可大着呢，妞儿。
"As you say." The merchant lowered his crossbow.
“好。”商人放下十字弓。
"The merchant called you Shadrich."
“那商人叫你夏德里奇。
"Ser Shadrich of the Shady Glen. Some call me the Mad Mouse." He turned his shield to show her his sigil, a large white mouse with fierce red eyes, on bendy brown and blue. "The brown is for the lands I've roamed, the blue for the rivers that I've crossed. The mouse is me."
“幽影谷的夏德里奇爵士，外号‘疯鼠’。”他将盾牌转过来给她看，棕色与蓝色的斜纹之上有一只大白老鼠，红色的眼睛神情凶猛。“棕色代表我游荡的土地，蓝色代表我渡过的河流，而那老鼠就是我。
"I find enough. 'Tis true, I am no tourney knight. I save my valor for the battlefield, woman."
“我找到的够多了。诚然，我不是比武大会的骑士。我将自己的英勇留给战场，女人。
"Oh, quite. Your common mouse will run from blood and battle. The mad mouse seeks them out."
“噢，相当疯狂。寻常的老鼠会远离流血和战斗，疯鼠却要追寻它们。
"And are you mad?"
“你是个疯子？
Woman was marginally better than wench, she supposed. "You and good Ser Creighton have much in common, then."
“女人”比“妞儿”强一点，她心想。“你和可敬的克雷顿爵士有许多共同点。
Ser Shadrich laughed. "Oh, I doubt that, but it may be that you and I share a quest. A little lost sister, is it? With blue eyes and auburn hair?" He laughed again. "You are not the only hunter in the woods. I seek for Sansa Stark as well."
夏德里奇爵士再度哈哈大笑，“噢，是吗？我很怀疑。不过话说回来，我跟你——我们彼此或许有共同的目标。一个迷路的小妹妹，对不对？蓝眼睛，枣红色头发？”他又笑起来。“你并非林子里唯一的猎人。我也在找珊莎·史塔克。
"It would seem he seldom finds them."
“他似乎很少找到真正的流血和战斗。
Brienne kept her face a mask, to hide her dismay. "Who is this Sansa Stark, and why do you seek her?"
布蕾妮不露声色，以掩饰不安。“谁是珊莎·史塔克，你为什么要找她？
She furrowed her brow. "Love?"
她皱起眉头，“爱？
"For love, why else?"
“为了爱啊，还能为什么？
"Aye, love of gold. Unlike your good Ser Creighton, I did fight upon the Blackwater, but on the losing side. My ransom ruined me. You know who Varys is, I trust? The eunuch has offered a plump bag of gold for this girl you've never heard of. I am not a greedy man. If some oversized wench would help me find this naughty child, I would split the Spider's coin with her."
“是的，对金子的爱。跟你们可敬的克雷顿爵士不同，我确实在黑水河上打过，只不过站在了失败者一边。为付赎金，我破了产。你知道瓦里斯吧？为了这个‘你从没听说过的女孩’，太监悬赏一大袋金子。我不贪心，假如某位大妞儿帮我找到那调皮的孩子，我愿意跟她分享八爪蜘蛛的赏格。
"I know no Sansa Stark," she insisted. "I am searching for my sister, a highborn girl…"
“我不认识珊莎·史塔克，”她坚持，“我在找我妹妹，一个贵族女孩…
"… with blue eyes and auburn hair, aye. Pray, who is this knight who travels with your sister? Or did you name him fool?" Ser Shadrich did not wait for her answer, which was good, since she had none. "A certain fool vanished from King's Landing the night King Joffrey died, a stout fellow with a nose full of broken veins, one Ser Dontos the Red, formerly of Duskendale. I pray your sister and her drunken fool are not mistaken for the Stark girl and Ser Dontos. That could be most unfortunate." He put his heels into his courser and trotted on ahead.
“…蓝眼睛，枣红色头发，瞧，多么凑巧。请问，那个跟你妹妹同行的骑士是谁？你说他是小丑？”幸好夏德里奇爵士没等她回答，因为她根本答不上。“乔佛里国王死去当晚，确实有个小丑从君临城消失，他生得矮矮胖胖，鼻子上布满琐碎的血管，乃是红骑士唐托斯，从前属于暮谷城。但愿你妹妹和她醉酒的小丑不要被错当成史塔克家的女孩和唐托斯爵士，否则就太不幸了。”他一踢战马，向前奔去。
"Only so far as Duskendale. Hibald is as niggardly as he is fearful. And he is very fearful. What say you, wench?"
“只到暮谷城而已。亥巴德不仅吝啬，而且胆小。他胆小得要命。你怎么说，妞儿？
"I thought you were in this merchant's hire."
“我以为你受雇于那商人。
Even Jaime Lannister had seldom made Brienne feel such a fool. You are not the only hunter in the woods. The woman Brella had told her how Joffrey had stripped Ser Dontos of his spurs, how Lady Sansa begged Joffrey for his life. He helped her flee, Brienne had decided, when she heard the tale. Find Ser Dontos, and I will find Sansa. She should have known there would be others who would see it too. Some may even be less savory than Ser Shadrich. She could only hope that Ser Dontos had hidden Sansa well. But if so, how will I ever find her?
连詹姆·兰尼斯特也鲜少令布蕾妮感觉自己如此愚蠢。你并非林子里唯一的猎人。那个叫贝蕾娜的女人曾告诉她，乔佛里是如何羞辱唐托斯爵士，珊莎小姐又是如何恳求乔佛里饶恕他的性命。那么，就是他帮助她逃跑的，布蕾妮听到故事后断定，找到唐托斯爵士，就能找到珊莎。她应该知道，别人也会想到这点。有些人的人品可能还不如夏德里奇爵士。她只希望唐托斯爵士将珊莎藏好一点。倘若如此，我又如何能找到她？
"Not us, unless your friend is giving them away," said Ser Illifer the Penniless. "We have no coin for rooms."
“我们不行，除非你朋友白给，”‘穷鬼’伊利佛爵士道，“我们没钱住店。
"I can pay for the three of us." Brienne did not lack for coin; Jaime had seen to that. In her saddlebags she'd found a purse fat with silver stags and copper stars, a smaller one stuffed with golden dragons, and a parchment commanding all loyal subjects of the king to assist the bearer, Brienne of House Tarth, who was about His Grace's business. It was signed in a childish hand by Tommen, the First of His Name, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, and Lord of the Seven Kingdoms.
“我可以付我们三人的账。”布蕾妮不缺钱，这是詹姆特意关照的。她鞍囊里有个鼓鼓的钱袋，装着银鹿币和铜星币，另一个较小的钱袋则塞满金龙币，还有一张羊皮纸，谕令国王的臣民协助其携带者，塔斯家的布蕾妮，她正为陛下办事。上面的签名是托曼稚嫩的手笔：托曼·拜拉席恩一世，安达尔人、洛伊拿人和“先民”的国王，七国统治者。
Night was gathering by the time their party came upon the inn, a tall, timbered building that stood beside a river junction, astride an old stone bridge. That was the inn's name, Ser Creighton told them: the Old Stone Bridge. The innkeep was a friend of his. "Not a bad cook, and the rooms have no more fleas than most," he vouched. "Who's for a warm bed tonight?"
等一行人来到一家客栈，夜色已经渐浓。那客栈是一栋高大的木建筑，矗立在河流交汇处，横跨一座古老的石桥。克雷顿爵士告诉他们，客栈的名字就叫“老石桥”，而店主人是他朋友。“这家的厨子不错，房间里的虱子也不比大多数客栈来得多，”他担保，“今晚谁睡暖床？
She hunched her shoulders down and rode on, frowning.
她耸耸肩膀，皱着眉头，催马前进。
Hibald was for stopping too, and bid his men to leave the wagon near the stables. Warm yellow light shone through the diamond-shaped panes of the inn's windows, and Brienne heard a stallion trumpet at the scent of her mare. She was loosening the saddle when a boy came out the stable door, and said, "Let me do that, ser."
亥巴德也准备停留，他命手下人将车留在马厩旁。温暖的黄色灯光从客栈的菱形窗格里透出来，布蕾妮听到一匹雄马在嘶鸣，因为嗅到了她跨下母马的气味。解马鞍时，一个男孩从马厩门里走出来说，“让我来吧，爵士先生。
"I am no ser," she told him, "but you may take the horse. See that she is fed and brushed and watered."
“我不是什么爵士，”她告诉他，“但你可以带走这匹马。务必让它吃饱喝足。
The boy reddened. "Beg pardons, m'lady. I thought…"
男孩涨红了脸，“请原谅，小姐，我以为…
"It is a common mistake." Brienne gave him the reins and followed the others into the inn, with her saddlebags across a shoulder and her bedroll tucked up beneath one arm.
“没关系，这是人们常犯的错。”布蕾妮将缰绳交给他，随其他人进入客栈，她肩上背着鞍囊，胳膊底下夹着铺盖卷。
Sawdust covered the plank floor of the common room, and the air smelled of hops and smoke and meat. A roast was spitting and crackling over the fire, unattended for the moment. Six locals sat about a table, talking, but they broke off when the strangers entered. Brienne could feel their eyes. Despite chainmail, cloak, and jerkin, she felt naked. When one man said, "Have a look at that," she knew he was not speaking of Ser Shadrich.
大厅的木板地上覆满木屑，空气中弥漫着啤酒、烟雾和烤肉的气味。火炉里的烤肉正咝咝冒油，噼啪作响，暂时无人看管。六个本地人坐在一张桌边聊天，但当陌生人进来时，他们立刻住口。布蕾妮可以感觉到他们的视线。尽管穿有锁甲、斗篷和外衣，她仍然觉得光着身子。一名男子说，“快看哪。”她知道这不是指夏德里奇爵士。
Ser Creighton Longbough looked offended. "Naggle, is that how you would greet an old friend? 'Tis me, Longbough."
克雷顿·朗勃爵士看上去忿忿不平，“纳格尔，你就这样跟老朋友打招呼？是我，朗勃啊。
"'Tis you indeed. You owe me seven stags. Show me some silver and I'll show you a bed." The innkeep set the tankards down one by one, slopping more ale on the table in the process.
“确实是你。你欠我七枚银鹿。银子拿来，我给你床。”店主人将杯子逐个放下，期间又在桌上洒出一些酒液。
"Do you have rooms, good man?" the merchant asked him.
“有房间吗，先生？”商人问他。
The innkeep appeared, clutching three tankards in each hand and slopping ale at every step.
店家双手各抓着三个大酒杯出现了，每走一步都溅出一些麦酒来。
"I might," the innkeep said, "for them as has coin."
“也许有吧，”店家道，“有钱便有。
"I will pay for one room for myself, and a second for my two companions." Brienne indicated Ser Creighton and Ser Illifer.
“我出钱，给自己一间房，再要一间给我的两位同伴。”布蕾妮指指克雷顿爵士和伊利佛爵士。
"I shall take a room as well," said the merchant, "for myself and good Ser Shadrich. My serving men will bed down in your stables, if it please you."
“我也要一间房，”商人说，“给我自己和可敬的夏德里奇爵士。我的仆人们睡你马厩，假如你乐意的话。
The innkeep looked them over. "It don't please me, but might be I'll allow it. Will you be wanting supper? That's good goat on the spit, that is."
店主人朝他们那边看了看，“我不乐意，不过也许会允许。用晚餐吗？火炉口是上好的山羊肉。
"I shall judge its goodness for myself," Hibald announced. "My men will content themselves with bread and drippings."
“我自己判断好还是不好，”亥巴德宣称，“我的手下只要面包和肉汁就满足了。
"True enough," Hibald said. "He's lost his sword hand."
“没错，”亥巴德说，“他失去了用剑的右手。
"Aye," Ser Creighton said, "chewed off by a direwolf, I hear, one of them monsters come down from the north. Nought that's good ever come from the north. Even their gods are queer."
“对，”克雷顿爵士说，“我听说是被冰原狼咬掉的——所谓冰原狼，就是北方的一种怪兽。北方从来没什么好东西，甚至北方佬的神也很怪异。
"You come from King's Landing," one of the locals said to Hibald. "Is it true that the Kingslayer's been crippled?"
“你们从君临来，”一个本地人对亥巴德说，“弑君者真的残废了？
"It was not a wolf," Brienne heard herself say. "Ser Jaime lost his hand to a Qohorik sellsword."
“不是狼干的，”布蕾妮听见自己说，“詹姆爵士的手是被科霍尔佣兵砍掉的。
"It is no easy thing to fight with your off hand," observed the Mad Mouse.
“用左手打不是件容易事。”疯鼠评论。
And so they supped. Brienne tried the goat herself, after following the innkeep up the steps, pressing some coins into his hand, and stashing her goods in the second room he showed her. She ordered goat for Ser Creighton and Ser Illifer as well, since they had shared their trout with her. The hedge knights and the septon washed down the meat with ale, but Brienne drank a cup of goat's milk. She listened to the table talk, hoping against hope that she might hear something that would help her find Sansa.
于是他们开始用餐。布蕾妮先随店主人上楼，往他手里塞了几枚硬币，得以将自己的物品放进最好的空屋子，然后她下来尝了尝山羊肉。她也给克雷顿爵士和伊利佛爵士点了山羊肉，因为他们曾分给她鲑鱼。雇佣骑士和商人以麦酒就着肉吃，布蕾妮喝的是一杯山羊奶。她仔细聆听饭桌上的谈论，抱着一线希望，或许能听到一点线索，有助于寻找珊莎。
Brienne remembered her fight with Jaime Lannister in the woods. It had been all that she could do to keep his blade at bay. He was weak from his imprisonment, and chained at the wrists. No knight in the Seven Kingdoms could have stood against him at his full strength, with no chains to hamper him. Jaime had done many wicked things, but the man could fight! His maiming had been monstrously cruel. It was one thing to slay a lion, another to hack his paw off and leave him broken and bewildered.
布蕾妮记得自己跟詹姆·兰尼斯特在树林里的战斗。她竭尽全力，才堪堪阻挡他的攻击。况且当时他因为长期囚禁而变得虚弱，手腕上还有锁链。假如没有锁链的牵制，他的力量又不曾被削弱，那么七大王国之内，没有一个骑士能与他匹敌。詹姆有过许多恶行，但他是个绝顶高手！把他弄成残废实在是异常残酷的行为。杀死狮子是一回事，砍掉他的爪子，折磨其心智，又是另一回事。
"Oh, I have no doubt of that." Ser Shadrich lifted his tankard in salute.
“噢，我一点也不怀疑。”夏德里奇爵士举杯致意。
Suddenly the common room was too loud to endure a moment longer. She muttered her good-nights and took herself up to bed. The ceiling in her room was low; entering with a taper in her hand, Brienne had to duck or crack her head. The only furnishings were a bed wide enough to sleep six, and the stub of a tallow candle on the sill. She lit it with the taper, barred the door, and hung her sword belt from a bedpost. Her scabbard was a plain thing, wood wrapped in cracked brown leather, and her sword was plainer still. She had bought it in King's Landing, to replace the blade the Brave Companions had stolen. Renly's sword. It still hurt, knowing she had lost it.
突然间，大厅里的嘈杂变得难以忍受，她含含糊糊地道过晚安，上楼睡觉去了。房间的天花板很低，布蕾妮手持细烛走进去时，不得不弯腰，否则会撞到脑袋。屋内唯一的摆设是一张足够睡六人的大床，还有窗台上的一段牛油蜡烛头。她用细蜡烛把它点燃，闩上门，又将剑带挂到床柱子上。她的木剑鞘朴素简易，包裹在开裂的棕色皮革之中，而她的剑更加平凡。这是她在君临买的，以代替被勇士团夺走的那把。那是蓝礼的配剑。想到自己把它弄丢了，她仍然感觉很难过。
"Bah," said Ser Creighton Longbough. "As it happens, I fight as well with either hand."
“哈哈，”朗勃·克雷顿爵士道，“碰巧我两只手用剑一样熟练。
Kneeling between the bed and wall, she held the blade and said a silent prayer to the Crone, whose golden lamp showed men the way through life. Lead me, she prayed, light the way before me, show me the path that leads to Sansa. She had failed Renly, had failed Lady Catelyn. She must not fail Jaime. He trusted me with his sword. He trusted me with his honor.
她跪在床和墙壁之间，举剑向老妪默默祈祷，祈求老妪的金灯能指引她一条明路。指引我，她祷告，照亮我前方的道路，指引我寻找珊莎。她已经辜负了蓝礼，辜负了凯特琳夫人。她不能再辜负詹姆。他把自己的剑托付给我，也把自己的荣誉托付给了我。
But she had another longsword hidden in her bedroll. She sat on the bed and took it out. Gold glimmered yellow in the candlelight and rubies smoldered red. When she slid Oathkeeper from the ornate scabbard, Brienne's breath caught in her throat. Black and red the ripples ran, deep within the steel. Valyrian steel, spell-forged. It was a sword fit for a hero. When she was small, her nurse had filled her ears with tales of valor, regaling her with the noble exploits of Ser Galladon of Morne, Florian the Fool, Prince Aemon the Dragonknight, and other champions. Each man bore a famous sword, and surely Oathkeeper belonged in their company, even if she herself did not. "You'll be defending Ned Stark's daughter with Ned Stark's own steel," Jaime had promised.
但她的铺盖卷里还藏着另一把长剑。她坐到床上，将它取出来。烛焰之下，镀金闪耀着黄光，红宝石仿佛闷烧的火。布蕾妮将守誓剑拔出华丽的剑鞘，不由得屏住呼吸。血红与漆黑的波纹深深地嵌入了钢铁之中。这是瓦雷利亚钢剑，由魔法形塑而成。这是一把英雄的配剑。小时候，奶妈向她灌输了许多英雄故事，让她知道“晨光”加勒敦爵士、傻子佛罗理安、龙骑士伊蒙王子以及其他勇士们的伟大事迹。他们每人都有一把名剑，守誓剑也该如此，但她自己并非英雄。“你将用奈德·史塔克自己的剑来保护他的女儿。”詹姆曾经允诺。
Her candle burned out. Darkness settled over the Old Stone Bridge, and the inn grew so still that she could hear the murmur of the river. Only then did Brienne rise to gather up her things. She eased the door open, listened, made her way barefoot down the steps. Outside she donned her boots and hurried to the stables to saddle her bay mare, asking a silent pardon of Ser Creighton and Ser Illifer as she mounted. One of Hibald's serving men woke when she rode past him, but made no move to stop her. Her mare's hooves rang upon the old stone bridge. Then the trees closed in around her, black as pitch and full of ghosts and memories. I am coming for you, Lady Sansa, she thought as she rode into the darkness. Be not afraid. I shall not rest until I've found you.
蜡烛已尽，黑暗笼罩着老石桥，周围变得如此宁谧，她甚至可以听见河流低沉的汩汩声。布蕾妮这才起来收拾东西。她轻轻推开门，听了听动静，然后光脚走下楼梯。她在外面套上靴子，快步来到马厩里，给她的母马系上鞍配。她一边跨上马背，一边默默地向克雷顿爵士和伊利佛爵士致歉。骑马经过亥巴德的一个仆人时，他醒了过来，但没有阻止她。母马的铁蹄在古老的石桥上发出清脆的响声，接着，树林将她包围，黑如沥青，充满了鬼魂和记忆。我来了，珊莎小姐，她一边想一边飞驰入黑暗之中。勿需害怕。不把你找到，我决不罢休。
Afterward she stretched out on the bed as best she could. For all its width it was not long enough, so Brienne lay across it sideways. She could hear the clatter of tankards from below, and voices drifting up the steps. The fleas that Longbough had spoken of put in their appearance. Scratching helped keep her awake.
然后，她在床上尽量伸展开身子。床很宽，但不够长，布蕾妮只能侧过来睡。她可以听到下面杯盏交碰的声音，话语声沿着楼梯飘上来。朗勃提到的虱子现身了。抓挠有助于她保持清醒。
She heard Hibald mount the stairs, and sometime later the knights as well. "… I never knew his name," Ser Creighton was saying as he went by, "but upon his shield he bore a blood-red chicken, and his blade was dripping gore…" His voice faded, and somewhere up above, a door opened and closed.
她听见亥巴德走上楼梯，稍后，骑士们也上来了。“…我一直不知道他的名字，”克雷顿爵士经过时在说，“但他盾牌上有一只血红的鸡，而他的剑上滴着血…”他的话音渐渐消失，楼上的一扇门打开又阖上。