The Black Arrow黑箭-part2

snoopylvwj

The Black Arrow,V2

n the last dinner in my employ at the palace, the Duchess, quite surprisingly, had invited the mayor of Moliva and Master Hiomaste himself among her other guests. The servants' gossip was manic. The mayor had been there before, albeit very irregularly, but Hiomaste's presence was unthinkable. What could she mean by such a conciliatory gesture?
在我在夏宫最后一次当差的晚宴上，伯爵夫人除了她的普通宾客外居然破天荒地请了Moliva村长和箭术大师Hiomaster。仆人们在下面疯狂的小声议论。虽说村长也不是没来过，但这次请了Hiomaste绝对很反常。到底伯爵夫人打的是什么主意通过这样和解的姿态？
The dinner itself progressed along with perfect if slightly cool civility among all parties. Hiomaste and the Duchess were both very quiet. The Mayor tried to engage the group in a discussion of the Emperor Pelagius IV's new son and heir Uriel, but it failed to spark much interest. Lady Villea, elderly but much more vivacious than her sister the Duchess, led most of the talk about crime and scandal in Eldenroot.
晚宴进行得还算比较成功，各位宾客都稍显平静和客套。Hiomaste和伯爵夫人都沉默寡言。村长试图发起关于Pelagius四世的新皇子及继承人Uriel的讨论，但没有引起宾客的太大兴趣。伯爵夫人的姐姐Lady Villea 使晚宴的话题一直围绕着发生在Eldenroot的犯罪事件和各种流言蜚语。
"I have been encouraging her to move out to the country, away from all that unpleasantness for years now," the Duchess said, meeting the eyes of the Mayor. "We've been discussing more recently the possibility of her building a palace on Moliva Hill, but there's so little space there as you know. Fortunately, we've come to a discovery. There is a wide field just a few days west, on the edge of the river, ideally suited."
“我一直支持她搬出城堡，远离那些陈年的不快，”伯爵夫人看着村长的双眼说。“我们这段时间一直在讨论我姐姐在Molova山上造一座自己的宫殿的可能性，但是你也知道那个地方没有足够的空间造一座像样的城堡。还好，我们最终讨论出了一个结果。那山顶的西边有一片荒芜的田地，就在河岸边上，是个不错的选择。”
"It sounds perfect," the Mayor smiled and turned to Lady Villea: "When will your ladyship begin building?"
“这听起来不错，”村长微笑着问Lady Villea：“请问夫人准备什么时候筹建宫殿？”
"The very day you move your village to the site," replied the Duchess of Woda.
“你的村庄一搬走就开工建城，”伯爵夫人回答道。
The Mayor turned to her to see if she was joking. She obviously was not.
村长回过头来难以置信地看着伯爵夫人以为她是在开玩笑，但显然不是。
"Think of how much more commerce you could bring to your village if you were close to the river," said Lady Villea jovially. "And Master Hiomaste's students could have easier access to his fine school. Everyone would benefit. I know it would put my sister's heart to ease if there was less trespassing and poaching on her lands."
“你想想你的村庄搬到河岸附近会带来更多的贸易，”Lady Villea 开心的说。“而且大师Hiomaste的学生们以后去他的学院就更容易了不是么？每个人都会从中获益。我知道这会使我妹妹更加舒心如果在她宫**的过客减少的话。”
"There is no poaching or trespassing on your lands now, Your Grace," frowned Hiomaste. "You do not own the jungle, nor will you. The villagers may be persuaded to leave, that I don't know. But my school will stay where it is."
“这里并没有你所说的偷猎或者非法闯入的行为在您的辖地，陛下，”Hiomaste说。“那片丛林并不是你的所有，或者说将来也不会是你的。村民们或许会被劝说搬离Moliva，我不知道。但我的学校不会搬迁。”
The dinner party never really recovered happily. Hiomaste and the Mayor excused themselves, and my services, such as they were, were not needed in the drawing room where the group went to have their drinks. There was no laughter to be heard through the walls that evening.
自那以后晚宴就再没有愉悦的氛围了。Hiomaste和村长告罪离席，而我也不用在侍奉在旁因为宾客们都去了大厅（休息室）喝酒去了。那边整晚没有传来一点儿笑声。
The next day, even though there was a dinner planned for the evening, I left on my usual walk to Moliva. Before I had even reached the drawbridge, the guard held me back: "Where are you going, Gorgic? Not to the village, are you?"
第二天，虽然晚上还是安排有晚宴，我离开了宫殿像往常一样**去Moliva村。我还没过吊桥，那边的守卫叫住了我：“你去哪儿，Gorgic？不会是去Moliva村吧？
"Why not?"
“为什么不？”
He pointed to the plume of smoke in the distance: "A fire broke out very early this morning, and it's still going. Apparently, it started at Master Hiomaste's school. It looks like the work of some traveling brigands."
他指着远处升起的黑烟说：“今天早上很早的时候那边发了一场火灾。而且看上去起火点是大师Hiomaste的学院。有可能是过路土匪干的。”
"Blessed Stendarr!" I cried. "Are the students alive?"
“Stendarr保佑我们！”我哭道。“有学生生还了么？”
"No one knows, but it'd be a miracle if any survived. It was late and most everyone was sleeping. I know they've already found the Master's body, or what was left of it. And they also found that girl, your friend, Prolyssa."
“没人知道，如果能生还的话就是奇迹了。着火的时候已经是后半夜了，每个人都在沉睡。我知道他们已经发现了大师的尸体还有那个可怜的女孩，你的朋友，Prolyssa。”
I spent the day in a state of shock. It seemed inconceivable what my instinct told me: that the two noble old ladies, Lady Villea and the Duchess of Woda, had arranged for a village and school that irritated them to be reduced to ashes. At dinner, they mentioned the fire in Moliva only very briefly, as if it were not news at all. But I did see the Duchess smile for the first time ever. It was a smile I will never forget until the day I die.
我魂不守舍地过了一天。我的直觉告诉我是那尊贵的伯爵夫人和她的姐姐安排了这场火灾把那些村民和学生烧成了灰烬，但这是多么难以想象的事情啊。在晚上的晚宴中她们只是简短的提了一下Moliva村的大火，好像那根本是无关痛痒的新闻。但我很确信地看到了伯爵夫人第一次展露了她的笑容。那笑容我想我到死也忘不了，那让人感到彻骨寒冷的奸笑。
The next morning, I had resolved to go to the village and see if I could be of any assistance to the survivors. I was passing through the servants' hall to the grand foyer when I heard the sound of a group of people ahead. The guards and most of the servants were there, pointing at the portrait of the Duchess that hung in the center of the hall.
次日清晨，我正准备去Moliva村看看我能为生还者们做些什么。当我通过仆人室到了前厅的时候我听到了前边有一群人在那里讨论。那里站着侍卫和大多数的仆人，对着大厅中心悬挂着的伯爵夫人的画像指指点点。
There was a single black bolt of ebony piercing the painting, right at the Duchess's heart.
画像上伯爵夫人的心脏上直挺挺地插着一支ebony 黑箭！！！
I recognized it at once. It was one of Missun Akin's arrows I had seen in his quiver, forged, he said, in the bowels of Dagoth-Ur itself. My first reaction was relief: the Dunmer who had been kind enough to give me a ride to the palace had survived the fire. My second reaction was echoed by all present in the hall. How had the vandal gotten past the guards, the gate, the moat, and the massive iron door?
我立刻认出了那支箭矢。那不就是当初Akin在马背上展示给我看的他箭盒里的ebony黑箭么。他曾说过那是在bowels of Dagoth-Ur itself锻造出来的。我的第一反应是松了口气：那个当初对我如此友好的黑精灵Akin还活着！我的第二反应和所有在大厅回响的声音一样，这个破坏者是如何躲过这么多的守卫，穿过这么复杂的铁门到大厅把箭给射上去的呢？
The Duchess, arriving shortly after I, was clearly furious, though she was too well bred to show it but by raising her web-thin eyebrows. She wasted no time in assigning all her servants to new duties to keep the palace grounds guarded at all times. We were given regular shifts and precise, narrow patrols.
伯爵夫人，比我晚一些到了大厅，她看起来气急了，虽然她刻意掩饰但她那竖起的细眉让我感受到了她已经气急败坏了。她很迅速地命令她所有的仆人把守好宫殿，我们被分派到几个常规的轮班执勤组进行巡逻。
The next morning, despite all precautions, there was another black arrow piercing the Duchess's portrait.
次日，尽管有了这些层层防卫，画像上还是插上了另一支黑箭！
So it continued for a week's time. The Duchess saw to it that at least one person was always present in the foyer, but somehow the arrow always found its way to her painting whenever the guard's eyes were momentarily averted.
就这样持续了一个礼拜。伯爵夫人至少派一个人一直守在大厅，但是这黑箭总是神不知鬼不觉地插到了画像上，不管守卫们是如何目不转睛地盯着。
A complex series of signals were devised, so each patrol could report back any sounds or disturbances they encountered during their vigil. At first, the Duchess arranged them so her castellan would receive record of any disturbances during the day, and the chief of the guard during the night. But when she found that she could not sleep, she made certain that the information came to her directly.
大家启用了一系列复杂的暗号，使每个巡逻队可以很快地报告任何他们遇到的声音或者异样骚动。一开始伯爵夫人亲自指派他们使她可以获得各种白天的关于不正常迹象的报告，而他的守卫长负责晚上的指派工作。但后面她发现晚上她已经无法入睡，于是她命令所有的异动都向她报告。
The atmosphere in the palace had shifted from gloomy to nightmarish. A s*** would slither across the moat, and suddenly Her Grace would be tearing through the east wing to investigate. A strong gust of wind ruffling the leaves on one of the few trees in the lawn was a similar emergency. An unfortunate lone traveler on the road in front of the palace, a completely innocent man at [sic] it turned out, brought such a violent reaction that he must have thought that he had stumbled on a war. In a way, he had.
宫殿的整个气氛从闪耀一下子变成了噩梦梦境一般。对一条爬过护城壕沟的蛇，伯爵夫人会让整个***的士兵过去调查。一阵强风吹得树叶乱动就是一场紧急情况。一个不幸的旅人在宫殿的**路过，一个完全无辜的人却会被牵扯进这个***事态里。
And every morning, there was a new arrow in the front hall, mocking her.
而每个早晨，大厅上的画像都会钉上一支新的黑箭，嘲笑着这个城堡的女主人。
I was given the terrible assignment of guarding the portrait for a few hours in the early morning. Not wanting to be the one to discover the arrow, I seated myself in a chair opposite, never letting my eyes move away for even a second. I don't know if you've had the experience of watching one object relentlessly, but it has a strange effect. All other senses vanish. That was why I was particularly startled when the Duchess rushed into the room, blurring the gulf for me between her portrait and herself.
我有次被指派去做清晨时间段的巡逻。我不想成为那个发现新箭矢的人，为此我坐在一张椅子对面，然后一直盯着那画像眼睛一眨也不眨。我不知道各位是不是有过一直盯着某样东西的经历，但那样做会有很奇怪的效果。所有除了你盯着的东西仿佛都消失了。因此当伯爵夫人突然冲到这间房间挡在我和她的画像之间时，我被吓了一大跳。
"There's something moving behind the tree across the road from the gate!" she roared, pushing me aside, and fumbling with her key in the gold lock.
“城门外路边的那棵大树上有什么在动！”她咆哮道，把我一把推开，接着去开那铁门上的金锁。
She was shaking with madness and excitement, and the key did not seem to want to go in. I reached out to help her, but the Duchess was already kneeling, her eye to the keyhole, to be certain that the key went through.
她的手臂剧烈地抖动着因为她的激动而疯狂，钥匙也着了魔似的怎么也捅不进锁眼。我走上前去想帮她，但伯爵夫人已经蹲下了身子眼睛对准锁孔在那里确认钥匙是不是插好了。
It was precisely in that second that the arrow arrived, but this one never made it as far as the portrait.
就在那时，那支每天都会出现的箭射了过来！！但这次没能够射到画像上。
I actually met Missun Akin years later, while I was in Morrowind to entertain some nobles. He was impressed that I had risen from being a humble domestic servant to being a bard of some renown. He himself had returned to the ashlands, and, like his old master Hiomaste, was retired to the simple life of teaching and hunting.
几年后当我在晨风省招待一些贵族时遇见了Akin。当他看到我已经从当年的卑微的小男佣变成了现在这样有些声望的人感到很惊讶。他已经回到了灰地，而且就像他的老师Hiomaste那样开始指导学生箭术和打猎。
I told him that I had heard that Lady Villea had decided not to leave the city, and that the village of Modiva had been rebuilt. He was happy to hear that, but I could not find a way to ask him what I really wanted to know. I felt like a fool just wondering if what I thought were true, that he had been behind Prolyssa's tree across the road from the gate every morning that summer, firing an arrow through the gate, across the lawn, across the moat, through a keyhole, and into a portrait of the Duchess of Woda until he struck the Duchess herself. It was clearly an impossibility. I chose not to ask.
我告诉他我听说Lady Villea已经不再计划搬离城堡，而且Modiva的村民们也重建了自己的村落。他很高兴听到这些消息，不过我一直找不到合适的机会问他我想知道的。我觉得想证实自己的猜测这件事挺傻的。猜测他就是那个站在城外路口大树的高枝上的那位神射手，在那个夏季每天的清晨射一支黑箭穿过城门、穿过草坪、穿过护城壕沟、穿过黄金锁眼最后笔直地插在伯爵夫人的画像上，直到最终在那天误中了伯爵夫人。这很显然是不可能发生的事情，我选择了不去问。

As we left one another that day, and he was waving good-bye, he said, "I am pleased to see you doing so well, my friend. I am happy you moved that chair."
就在我们即将要分别的那天，他向我挥手道别，他说，“我很高兴再次见到你，我的朋友。我很高兴你在那天搬走了那把椅子。”