EDDARD
27 艾德
”It’s the Hand’s
tourney that’s the cause of all the trouble, my lords,” the Commander of the
City Watch complained to the king’s council.
“諸位大人，這些麻煩都是首相的比武大會帶來的。”都城守備隊的司令官向御前會議抱怨。
“The king’s tourney,” Ned corrected, wincing. “I assure you, the Hand
wants no part of it.”
“國王的比武大會，”奈德皺著眉頭糾正他，“我跟你保證，首相對這事一點興趣都沒有。”
“Call it what you will, my lord. Knights have been arriving from all
over the realm, and for every knight we get two freeriders, three craftsmen,
six men-at-arms, a dozen merchants, two dozen whores, and more thieves than I
dare guess. This cursed heat had half the city in a fever to start, and now
with all these visitors?.?.?.?last night we had a drowning, a tavern riot,
three knife fights, a rape, two fires, robberies beyond count, and a drunken
horse race down the Street of the Sisters. The night before a woman’s head was
found in the Great Sept, floating in the rainbow pool. No one seems to know how
it got there or who it belongs to.”
“您怎么說都行，大人，可事實是全國各地的騎士陸陸續續都來了哪。而每來一個騎士呢，跟著就來兩個自由騎手、三個工匠、六個大兵、一打生意人、兩打妓女，至于小偷，多到我猜都不敢猜。這該死的熱天已經害城里半數人熱得暈頭轉向，現在又來這么多家伙……昨兒晚上就有人溺死，外加一起酒館暴亂，三起持刀械斗，一起強奸案，兩場火災，搶劫數不清啦，還有匹喝醉的馬沖到修女街去了。前天呢，則有個女人的頭被人發現漂在大圣堂的彩虹池里，沒人知道那顆頭是打哪兒來的，也沒人知道那是誰的頭。”
“How dreadful,” Varys said with a shudder.
“真是嚇人喲。”瓦里斯打著哆嗦。
Lord Renly
Baratheon was less sympathetic. “If you cannot keep the king’s peace, Janos,
perhaps the City Watch should be commanded by someone who can.”
藍禮·拜拉席恩公爵可沒他這么好心。“我說啊，杰諾斯，你要是連城里的秩序都無法維持，恐怕都城守衛隊得換個有辦法的人來當司令啰。”
Stout, jowly
Janos Slynt puffed himself up like an angry frog, his bald pate reddening.
“Aegon the Dragon himself could not keep the peace, Lord Renly. I need more
men.”
史林特生得高頭大馬，一副雙下巴，他聽了這話立刻變得跟青蛙一樣氣鼓鼓的，光頭頓時紅了起來。“藍禮大人，就算龍王伊耿再世也管不住。我需要人手。”
“How many?” Ned asked, leaning forward. As ever, Robert had not
troubled himself to attend the council session, so it fell to his Hand to speak
for him.
“你要多少人？”奈德傾身向前問。依慣例，勞勃又沒參加會議，所以他這個“國王之手”只好代為發言。
“As many as can be gotten, Lord Hand.”
“首相大人，當然是越多越好。”
“Hire fifty new men,” Ned told him. “Lord Baelish will see that you
get the coin.”
“那就雇五十個新兵，”奈德告訴他，“錢的事交給貝里席大人打點。”
“I will?” Littlefinger said.
“我打點？”小指頭說。
“You will. You found forty thousand golden dragons for a champion’s
purse, surely you can scrape together a few coppers to keep the king’s peace.”
Ned turned back to Janos Slynt. “I will also give you twenty good swords from
my own household guard, to serve with the Watch until the crowds have left.”
“沒錯。既然你連比武冠軍的四萬金龍賞金都籌得出，多弄幾個銅板維持城里秩序想必不成問題。”奈德轉頭對杰諾斯·史林特道，“我再從我的貼身護衛中撥二十個人給你，直到城里這批人離開為止。”
“All thanks, Lord Hand,” Slynt said, bowing. “I promise you, they
shall be put to good use.”
“非常感謝，首相大人。”史林特鞠躬，“我向您保證，一定讓他們派上用場。”
When the
Commander had taken his leave, Eddard Stark turned to the rest of the council.
“The sooner this folly is done with, the better I shall like it.” As if the
expense and trouble were not irksome enough, all and sundry insisted on salting
Ned’s wound by calling it “the Hand’s tourney,” as if he were the cause of it.
And Robert honestly seemed to think he should feel honored!
司令官離開后，奈德轉向在場重臣：“這場鬧劇早一天結束，我就早一天安心。”仿佛籌措經費和接踵而至的麻煩還不夠他受，所有的閑雜人等都把這叫做“首相的比武大會”，這無疑是在傷口上灑鹽，好像他才是罪魁禍首。而勞勃竟當真以為他應該為此感到光榮！
“The realm prospers from such events, my lord,” Grand Maester Pycelle
said. “They bring the great the chance of glory, and the lowly a respite from
their woes.”
“王國就是因為這種事才興盛的啊，大人。”派席爾國師說，“對上等階級而言，這是求取榮耀的大好時機。至于窮苦老百姓嘛，也能因此暫時忘憂解愁。”
“And put coins in many a pocket,” Littlefinger added. “Every inn in
the city is full, and the whores are walking bowlegged and jingling with each
step.”
“很多人還能藉此大撈一筆，”小指頭補充，“城里的旅店通通客滿，妓女接客接到腳都合不攏，走起路來口袋里的銅板響叮當。”
Lord Renly
laughed. “We’re fortunate my brother Stannis is not with us. Remember the time
he proposed to outlaw brothels? The king asked him if perhaps he’d like to
outlaw eating, shitting, and breathing while he was at it. If truth be told, I
ofttimes wonder how Stannis ever got that ugly daughter of his. He goes to his
marriage bed like a man marching to a battlefield, with a grim look in his eyes
and a determination to do his duty.”
藍禮公爵哈哈大笑：“還好我二哥史坦尼斯不在。記不記得那次他提議查禁妓院？結果國王問他說要不要順便連吃飯、拉屎、呼吸也統統禁了算了。老實講，有時候我真懷疑史坦尼斯那個丑女兒是怎么來的。老哥他上床簡直跟上戰場一樣，眼神莊嚴肅穆，打定主意要履行他的責任。”
Ned had not
joined the laughter. “I wonder about your brother Stannis as well. I wonder
when he intends to end his visit to Dragonstone and resume his seat on this
council.”
奈德沒有跟著笑。“我也在想你哥哥史坦尼斯的事，不知他何時才會結束龍石島的探訪，重新回到崗位。”
“No doubt as soon as we’ve scourged all those whores into the sea,”
Littlefinger replied, provoking more laughter.
“只要我們把妓女統統趕進海里，他就會馬上回來了罷。”小指頭此話一出，其他人笑得更厲害了。
“I have heard quite enough about whores for one day,” Ned said,
rising. “Until the morrow.”
“關于妓女的事，我今天也聽夠了。”奈德起身說，“就到此為止。”
Harwin had the
door when Ned returned to the Tower of the Hand. “Summon Jory to my chambers
and tell your father to saddle my horse,” Ned told him, too brusquely.
奈德回到首相塔時，守門的是哈爾溫。“叫喬里到我房間來，然后叫你爹幫我備好馬鞍。”奈德告訴他，口氣稍沖了點。
“As you say, my lord.”
“是的，老爺。”
The Red Keep and
the “Hand’s tourney” were chafing him raw, Ned reflected as he climbed. He
yearned for the comfort of Catelyn’s arms, for the sounds of Robb and Jon
crossing swords in the practice yard, for the cool days and cold nights of the
north.
紅堡里的御前會議和這所謂“首相的比武大會”讓他滿心不耐，奈德邊爬樓梯邊想。此刻他好想念凱特琳的懷抱，想念羅柏和瓊恩在場子里練劍的聲音，想念北方的涼爽白晝和清寒冷夜。
In his chambers
he stripped off his council silks and sat for a moment with the book while he
waited for Jory to arrive. The Lineages and Histories of the Great Houses of
the Seven Kingdoms, With Descliptions of Many High Lords and Noble Ladies and
Their Children, by Grand Maester Malleon. Pycelle had spoken truly; it made for
ponderous reading. Yet Jon Arryn had asked for it, and Ned felt certain he had
reasons. There was something here, some truth buried in these brittle yellow
pages, if only he could see it. But what? The tome was over a century old.
Scarcely a man now alive had yet been born when Malleon had compiled his dusty
lists of weddings, births, and deaths.
進房后他褪去重臣穿的正式絲衣，坐著看了會兒書，等待喬里。這本書全名是《七國主要貴族之世家譜系與歷史（內附關于許多爵爺夫人和他們子女的描述）》，由梅利恩國師所撰。派席爾說得沒錯，這東西還真是枯燥乏味。但瓊恩·艾林既然找來讀了，奈德相信必有其原因。在這些泛黃的脆弱書頁間，肯定埋藏著重要的線索，問題只在于他是否能鉆研出其中深意。那究竟是什么呢？這本書冊的歷史已經超過百年。當梅利恩收集這份蒙塵的婚喪喜慶清單時，目前活在世上的人幾乎都還沒出生呢。
He opened to the
section on House Lannister once more, and turned the pages slowly, hoping
against hope that something would leap out at him. The Lannisters were an old
family, tracing their descent back to Lann the Clever, a trickster from the Age
of Heroes who was no doubt as legendary as Bran the Builder, though far more
beloved of singers and taletellers. In the songs, Lann was the fellow who
winkled the Casterlys out of Casterly Rock with no weapon but his wits, and
stole gold from the sun to brighten his curly hair. Ned wished he were here
now, to winkle the truth out of this damnable book.
他再度翻到蘭尼斯特家族的部分，刻意慢慢翻頁，雖然明知不可能，卻仍希望藉此靈光乍現。蘭尼斯特家族歷史悠久，向上可以追溯到英雄紀元時的騙術高手“機靈的”蘭尼。他和“筑城者”布蘭登一樣同富傳奇色彩，卻更受歌手和說書人的愛戴。歌謠中的蘭尼不靠刀劍，光憑他的機智就把凱斯德利家族趕出凱巖城，又從太陽那里偷來黃金為他的卷發增光。奈德真希望他此刻就在自己身邊，幫他把書中那該死的秘密趕出來。
A sharp rap on
the door heralded Jory Cassel. Ned closed Malleon’s tome and bid him enter.
“I’ve promised the City Watch twenty of my guard until the tourney is done,” he
told him. “I rely on you to make the choice. Give Alyn the command, and make
certain the men understand that they are needed to stop fights, not start
them.” Rising, Ned opened a cedar chest and removed a light linen undertunic.
“Did you find the stableboy?”
一陣急促的敲門聲宣告了喬里·凱索的到來。奈德闔上梅利恩的巨著，傳他進來。“我答應從我的衛隊里抽二十個人給都城守衛隊，直到比武大會結束。”他告訴他，“挑人的事就交給你。讓埃林領隊，但務必讓他們明白，首要任務是平息紛爭，而非制造沖突。”奈德起身，打開雪松木箱，拿出一件輕制亞麻布上衣。“找到那個馬僮了嗎？”
“The watchman, my lord,” Jory said. “He vows he’ll never touch
another horse.”
“老爺，您說的這個都城守衛，”喬里道，“他發誓這輩子再也不碰別的馬了。”
“What did he have to say?”
“為什么？”
“He claims he knew Lord Arryn well. Fast friends, they were.” Jory
snorted. “The Hand always gave the lads a copper on their name days, he says.
Had a way with horses. Never rode his mounts too hard, and brought them carrots
and apples, so they were always pleased to see him.”
“他說自己很了解艾林大人，說什么兩人一拍即合。”喬里哼了一聲，“他說每逢小伙子們命名日，首相大人總不忘賞幾個小錢。還說首相大人熟悉馬性，從不讓坐騎過分勞累，還每每帶胡蘿卜和蘋果給馬兒吃，所以它們都很喜歡他。”
“Carrots and apples,” Ned repeated. It sounded as if this boy would
be even less use than the others. And he was the last of the four Littlefinger
had turned up. Jory had spoken to each of them in turn. Ser Hugh had been
brusque and uninformative, and arrogant as only a new-made knight can be. If
the Hand wished to talk to him, he should be pleased to receive him, but he
would not be questioned by a mere captain of guards?.?.?.?even if said captain
was ten years older and a hundred times the swordsman. The serving girl had at
least been pleasant. She said Lord Jon had been reading more than was good for
him, that he was troubled and melancholy over his young son’s frailty, and
gruff with his lady wife. The potboy, now cordwainer, had never exchanged so
much as a word with Lord Jon, but he was full of oddments of kitchen gossip:
the lord had been quarreling with the king, the lord only picked at his food,
the lord was sending his boy to be fostered on Dragonstone, the lord had taken
a great interest in the breeding of hunting hounds, the lord had visited a
master armorer to commission a new suit of plate, wrought all in pale silver
with a blue jasper falcon and a mother-of-pearl moon on the breast. The king’s
own brother had gone with him to help choose the design, the potboy said. No,
not Lord Renly, the other one, Lord Stannis.
“胡蘿卜和蘋果。”奈德跟著念了一遍。聽起來這小子能幫上的忙比其他幾個人還要有限，而他已經是小指頭所說那四人之中最后的一個了。喬里和每個人都分別談過。修夫爵士脾氣火爆，不肯多說，剛當上騎士就已經很驕傲。照他的話，倘若首相大人有意和他談談，他很樂于接見，但區區一個侍衛隊長可沒資格盤問他……就算這個侍衛隊長大他十歲，劍術強他一百倍也沒戲。那個廚房小妹總算還好溝通，她說瓊恩大人讀書讀過頭啦，還說他為小兒子的孱弱病體傷神擔憂，對夫人又很粗暴。至于那個現在靠拉車維生的跑堂小廝，則從來沒跟瓊恩大人說過話。不過他倒是知道一堆廚房里的閑話：聽說老爺近來常跟國王吵架，老爺嫌東西不好吃，老爺打算送他兒子到龍石島當養子，老爺對養獵犬突然有了興趣，老爺去找了個高明的武器師傅，委托他打造一副全新的鎧甲，整件鍍上白銀，胸前安上一只藍玉雕的獵鷹和珍珠母做的月亮。跑堂小弟說，是國王的弟弟親自陪他去挑選材料和花樣，喔不，不是藍禮大人，是另外那個，史坦尼斯大人。
“Did our watchman recall anything else of note?”
“這守衛有沒有提到什么值得留意的事？”
“The lad swears Lord Jon was as strong as a man half his age. Often
went riding with Lord Stannis, he says.”
“小伙子發誓說瓊恩大人同年紀小他一半的人一樣健壯，還常跟史坦尼斯大人外出騎馬。”
Stannis again,
Ned thought. He found that curious. Jon Arryn and he had been cordial, but
never friendly. And while Robert had been riding north to Winterfell, Stannis
had removed himself to Dragonstone, the Targaryen island fastness he had
conquered in his brother’s name. He had given no word as to when he might return.
“Where did they go on these rides?” Ned asked.
又是史坦尼斯，奈德心想。這可奇了，瓊恩·艾林和他固然禮尚往來，卻從不親近。當勞勃北訪臨冬城時，史坦尼斯也躲回了龍石島——那座多年前他以哥哥的名義，從坦格利安家族手中奪來的海島要塞——并只字未提何時歸來。“他們都騎馬上哪兒？”奈德問。
“The boy says that they visited a brothel.”
“那小子說上妓院去。”
“A brothel?” Ned said. “The Lord of the Eyrie and Hand of the King
visited a brothel with Stannis Baratheon?” He shook his head, incredulous,
wondering what Lord Renly would make of this tidbit. Robert’s lusts were the
subject of ribald drinking songs throughout the realm, but Stannis was a
different sort of man; a bare year younger than the king, yet utterly unlike
him, stern, humorless, unforgiving, grim in his sense of duty.
“上妓院？”奈德道，“鷹巢城公爵、御前首相和史坦尼斯·拜拉席恩一起上妓院？”他難以置信地搖頭，心里暗想要是藍禮大人聽了不知會作何反應。勞勃性好漁色舉國皆知，成天有人拿來編歌取笑，但史坦尼斯可不一樣。他雖只比國王小一歲，個性卻是天壤之別：嚴峻、缺乏幽默感，從不輕易寬恕他人，重視責任到幾近冷酷的地步。
“The boy insists it’s true. The Hand took three guardsmen with him,
and the boy says they were joking of it when he took their horses afterward.”
“小伙子堅持說這是真的。首相大人隨身帶了三個侍衛，小伙子說事后幫他們牽馬時，聽見他們拿這事開玩笑。”
“Which brothel?” Ned asked.
“是哪家妓院？”奈德問。
“The boy did not know. The guards would.”
“小伙子也不知道，那幾個侍衛應該知道。”
“A pity Lysa carried them off to the Vale,” Ned said dryly. “The gods
are doing their best to vex us.Lady Lysa, Maester Colemon, Lord
Stannis?.?.?.?everyone who might actually know the truth of what happened to
Jon Arryn is a thousand leagues away.”
“只可惜萊莎把他們都帶回艾林谷去了。”奈德干澀地說，“諸神真是想盡辦法阻撓我們。萊莎夫人、柯蒙學士，還有史坦尼斯大人……每一個可能知道真相的人都在千里之外。”
“Will you summon Lord Stannis back from Dragonstone?”
“您要不要把史坦尼斯大人從龍石島給召回來？”
“Not yet,” Ned said. “Not until I have a better notion of what this
is all about and where he stands.” The matter nagged at him. Why did Stannis
leave? Had he played some part in Jon Arryn’s murder? Or was he afraid? Ned
found it hard to imagine what could frighten Stannis Baratheon, who had once
held Storm’s End through a year of siege, surviving on rats and boot leather
while the Lords Tyrell and Redwyne sat outside with their hosts, banqueting in
sight of his walls.
“還不是時候，”奈德道，“等我進一步了解內情，并弄清楚他站在哪一邊再說。”這事真教他心煩。史坦尼斯為何離開？難道謀害瓊恩·艾林他也有份？難道他在害怕？奈德很難想像有什么能嚇住史坦尼斯·拜拉席恩，當年他曾堅守風息堡長達一年之久，到最后提利爾公爵和雷德溫伯爵的軍隊圍在城外，成天飲酒作樂，城里卻只能靠吃老鼠肉和鞋皮支撐。
“Bring me my doublet, if you would. The grey, with the direwolf
sigil. I want this armorer to know who I am. It might make him more forthcoming.”
“麻煩你幫我把背心拿來，就灰色有冰原狼飾樣的那件。我要讓這個武器師傅知道我是誰，這樣他或許會比較容易開口。”
Jory went to the
wardrobe. “Lord Renly is brother to Lord Stannis as well as the king.”
喬里走到衣櫥邊。“藍禮大人也是國王和史坦尼斯大人的弟弟。”
“Yet it seems that he was not invited on these rides.” Ned was not
sure what to make of Renly, with all his friendly ways and easy smiles. A few
days past, he had taken Ned aside to show him an exquisite rose gold locklet.
Inside was a miniature painted in the vivid Myrish style, of a lovely young
girl with doe’s eyes and a cascade of soft brown hair. Renly had seemed anxious
to know if the girl reminded him of anyone, and when Ned had no answer but a
shrug, he had seemed disappointed. The maid was Loras Tyrell’s sister Margaery,
he’d confessed, but there were those who said she looked like Lyanna. “No,” Ned
had told him, bemused. Could it be that Lord Renly, who looked so like a young
Robert, had conceived a passion for a girl he fancied to be a young Lyanna?
That struck him as more than passing queer.
“但他們騎馬卻沒找他作伴，”雖然藍禮態度友善又笑口常開，奈德仍舊摸不清他的立場。前幾天，他把奈德拉到一邊，向他展示一個精雕細琢的黃金玫瑰墜子，里面有張密爾畫風的鮮活肖像，畫中人是個生著雌鹿般眸子和一頭柔軟棕發的可愛少女。藍禮似乎急于知道女孩是否讓他聯想起什么人，當奈德答不上來，只聳了聳肩時，他似乎相當失望。女孩是洛拉斯·提利爾的妹妹瑪格麗，后來他坦承，不過有人說她長得像萊安娜。“不像啊。”奈德困惑地告訴他。難道說長得像勞勃年輕時的藍禮，暗中愛慕著這位在他看來長得像年輕的萊安娜的女孩？真是怪事一樁。
Jory held out
the doublet, and Ned slid his hands through the armholes. “Perhaps Lord Stannis
will return for Robert’s tourney,” he said as Jory laced the garment up the
back.
喬里遞過背心，奈德把手穿進臂口。“或許史坦尼斯大人會回來參加勞勃的比武大會。”他邊說邊讓喬里替他將衣服帶子在后腰處系上結。
“That would be a stroke of fortune, my lord,” Jory said.
“那可就真是諸神眷顧了，老爺。”喬里說。
Ned buckled on a
longsword. “In other words, not bloody likely.” His smile was grim.
奈德系上一柄長劍。“換言之，大概他媽的不可能。”他無奈地笑笑。
Jory draped
Ned’s cloak across his shoulders and clasped it at the throat with the Hand’s
badge of office. “The armorer lives above his shop, in a large house at the top
of the Street of Steel. Alyn knows the way, my lord.”
喬里把奈德的披風搭上他的肩膀，在喉嚨的地方用首相的徽章扣住。“這武器師傅住在他店面樓上，就鋼鐵街頂的一棟大房子。埃林認得路，老爺。”
Ned nodded. “The
gods help this potboy if he’s sent me off haring after shadows.” It was a slim
enough staff to lean on, but the Jon Arryn that Ned Stark had known was not one
to wear jeweled and silvered plate. Steel was steel; it was meant for
protection, not ornament. He might have changed his views, to be sure. He would
scarcely have been the first man who came to look on things differently after a
few years at court?.?.?.?but the change was marked enough to make Ned wonder.
奈德點點頭。“要是這拉車小廝撒謊，就只有天上諸神能救他了。”雖然這實在不像是條可靠的線索，但奈德·史塔克所認識的瓊恩·艾林可不會穿什么鑲珠寶的銀鎧甲。他說過：鎧甲就是鎧甲，用來防身，而非裝飾。當然，他也有可能改變想法，在宮里待過十幾年，再怎么也不可能和從前一模一樣……然而這個轉變未免太大，奈德實在無法釋懷。
“Is there any other service I might perform?”
“還有什么需要我效勞？”
“I suppose you’d best begin visiting whorehouses.”
“你可以準備上妓院了。”
“Hard duty, my lord.” Jory grinned. “The men will be glad to help.
Porther has made a fair start already.”
“老爺，這是苦差事啊。”喬里嘻嘻笑道，“我想大伙兒都會很樂意幫忙，波瑟早就迫不及待，自己先去了。”
Ned’s favorite
horse was saddled and waiting in the yard. Varly and Jacks fell in beside him
as he rode through the yard. Their steel caps and shirts of mail must have been
sweltering, yet they said no word of complaint. As Lord Eddard passed beneath
the King’s Gate into the stink of the city, his grey and white cloak streaming
from his shoulders, he saw eyes everywhere and kicked his mount into a trot.
His guard followed.
奈德最心愛的坐騎已經上好馬鞍，正在庭院里等他。他穿過場子，瓦利和杰克斯一左一右跟了上來。在這種大熱天，穿戴鋼頭盔和鎧甲一定汗流浹背，但他們半聲怨言也無。艾德公爵身披灰白相間的長披風，策馬穿過國王大門，進入臭氣四溢的城區，立時感覺到四處都是眼線。他一踢馬肚，絕塵而去，兩名侍衛緊跟在后。
He looked behind
him frequently as they made their way through the crowded city streets. Tomard
and Desmond had left the castle early this morning to take up positions on the
route they must take, and watch for anyone following them, but even so, Ned was
uncertain. The shadow of the King’s Spider and his little birds had him
fretting like a maiden on her wedding night.
他們在擁擠的街道間穿梭，他頻頻回頭。雖說托馬德和戴斯蒙今天一大早便離開城堡，守在他們必經之路上，負責注意是否有人跟蹤，但奈德還是不放心。活在國王的八腳蜘蛛及其鷹犬的陰影下，他就像洞房花燭夜的新嫁娘一樣害怕。
The Street of
Steel began at the market square beside the River Gate, as it was named on
maps, or the Mud Gate, as it was commonly called. A mummer on stilts was
striding through the throngs like some great insect, with a horde of barefoot
children trailing behind him, hooting. Elsewhere, two ragged boys no older than
Bran were dueling with sticks, to the loud encouragement of some and the
furious curses of others. An old woman ended the contest by leaning out of her
window and emptying a bucket of slops on the heads of the combatants. In the
shadow of the wall, farmers stood beside their wagons, bellowing out, “Apples,
the best apples, cheap at twice the price,” and “Blood melons, sweet as honey,”
and “Turnips, onions, roots, here you go here, here you go, turnips, onions,
roots, here you go here.”
鋼鐵街從臨河門旁的市集廣場開始延伸。這臨河門乃是地圖上標記的名字，老百姓平常都喚它作“爛泥門”。街上，有個戲子正踩著高蹺，像只巨型怪蟲般大跨步走在人群里，后面跟了一大群光著腳丫的小孩，尖聲怪叫著。另外一邊則有兩個衣衫襤褸，年紀跟布蘭差不多的男孩正拿著木棍來往比劃，圍觀群眾有的大聲喝采，有的氣惱咒罵。最后一名老太婆從窗戶里探出頭，把一桶洗腳水倒在兩個男生頭上，才算終止了這場打斗。農民們躲在城墻的陰影下，站在他們的貨車旁高聲吆喝著：“蘋果，上好的蘋果喲，價錢再高一倍你都會覺得便宜喲，”或是“來買血甜瓜喔，甜得跟蜂蜜一樣喔！”以及“大頭菜、洋蔥、馬鈴薯，來來來，大頭菜、洋蔥、馬鈴薯喲，來來來喔！”
The Mud Gate was
open, and a squad of City Watchmen stood under the portcullis in their golden
cloaks, leaning on spears. When a column of riders appeared from the west, the
guardsmen sprang into action, shouting commands and moving the carts and foot
traffic aside to let the knight enter with his escort. The first rider through
the gate carried a long black banner. The silk rippled in the wind like a
living thing; across the fabric was blazoned a night sky slashed with purple
lightning. “Make way for Lord Beric!” the rider shouted. “Make way for Lord
Beric!” And close behind came the young lord himself, a dashing figure on a
black courser, with red-gold hair and a black satin cloak dusted with stars.
“Here to fight in the Hand’s tourney, my lord?” a guardsman called out to him.
“Here to win the Hand’s tourney,” Lord Beric shouted back as the crowd cheered.
爛泥門大大敞開，一小隊都城守衛肩披制式的金色披風，拄著長矛站在閘門下。眼看西邊來了一群排成縱隊騎馬飛奔的人，守衛們急忙發號施令，把擋路的推車和行人趕開，好讓騎士和他的隨從通過。當先穿過大門的人高舉一面長長的黑旗，絲織的旌旗在風中飛揚，仿如活物。旗幟上繡著一道劃過夜空的紫色閃電。“貝里大人駕到！速速回避！”來者高喊，“貝里大人駕到！速速回避！”緊跟在后的正是那位金紅頭發的年輕貴族，他身披黑緞星紋披風，騎匹黑色駿馬，十足浮華模樣。“您是來參加首相比武大會的嗎，大人？”一名守衛在他身后叫道。“我是來拿比武大會冠軍的！”貝里伯爵在群眾歡呼聲中高聲回應。
Ned turned off
the square where the Street of Steel began and followed its winding path up a
long hill, past blacksmiths working at open forges, freeriders haggling over
mail shirts, and grizzled ironmongers selling old blades and razors from their
wagons. The farther they climbed, the larger the buildings grew. The man they
wanted was all the way at the top of the hill, in a huge house of timber and
plaster whose upper stories loomed over the narrow street. The double doors
showed a hunting scene carved in ebony and weirwood. A pair of stone knights
stood sentry at the entrance, armored in fanciful suits of polished red steel
that transformed them into griffin and unicorn. Ned left his horse with Jacks and
shouldered his way inside.
奈德離開廣場，轉進鋼鐵街，沿著蜿蜒小路騎上長長的維桑尼亞丘陵，沿途經過在鍛爐前干活的鐵匠，拿著盔甲討價還價的自由騎手，以及頭發灰白，兜售著馬車上各種舊鐵陳刀的鐵器販子。他們越爬越高，建筑物也更顯高大，城里絕大多數鐵匠都在此地。他們要找的人住在丘頂，有一棟用木材和石膏搭成、樓層足以俯瞰下方狹窄巷道的巨大屋子。房子的兩扇大門乃是黑檀木和魚梁木所制，上面刻畫著一幅打獵圖，一對石雕騎士守在入口兩側，披掛著造型天馬行空的紅鋼鎧甲，使他們有了鷹頭獅和獨角獸的形態。奈德把馬交給杰克斯，側身走進屋內。
The slim young
serving girl took quick note of Ned’s badge and the sigil on his doublet, and
the master came hurrying out, all smiles and bows. “Wine for the King’s Hand,”
he told the girl, gesturing Ned to a couch. “I am Tobho Mott, my lord, please,
please, put yourself at ease.” He wore a black velvet coat with hammers
embroidered on the sleeves in silver thread, Around his neck was a heavy silver
chain and a sapphire as large as a pigeon’s egg. “If you are in need of new
arms for the Hand’s tourney, you have come to the right shop.” Ned did not
bother to correct him. “My work is costly, and I make no apologies for that, my
lord,” he said as he filled two matching silver goblets. “You will not find
craftsmanship equal to mine anywhere in the Seven Kingdoms, I promise you.
Visit every forge in King’s Landing if you like, and compare for yourself. Any
village smith can hammer out a shirt of mail; my work is art.”
瘦小的女侍眼尖，立刻認出奈德的徽章和背心上的家徽，沒過多久屋主便急急忙忙出來迎接，滿臉堆笑，忙著打躬作揖。“快幫首相大人倒酒。”他對女孩說，然后示意奈德在長椅落座。“大人，我叫托布·莫特，您請坐，把這兒當自個兒家罷。”他穿著黑天鵝絨外套，袖子上用銀線繡了鐵錘的圖案，頸項間則戴了條沉重的銀鏈，上面那顆藍寶石有鴿子蛋那么大。“如果您需要在首相比武大會上穿的新鎧甲，那您可來對地方了。”奈德已經懶得糾正了。“大人，我做的東西要價很高，這我自己也承認，”他邊說邊把兩只成對的銀制高腳杯斟滿酒。“不過我敢跟您保證，七國上下再找不到手藝能跟我比的人。您若是不信，大可把君臨每一家打鐵鋪都走過一遍，自己比較比較。其實打件盔甲，隨便一個鄉下鐵匠都會。我打出來的是藝術品。”
Ned sipped his
wine and let the man go on. The Knight of Flowers bought all his armor here,
Tobho boasted, and many high lords, the ones who knew fine steel, and even Lord
Renly, the king’s own brother. Perhaps the Hand had seen Lord Renly’s new
armor, the green plate with the golden antlers? No other armorer in the city
could get that deep a green; he knew the secret of putting color in the steel
itself, paint and enamel were the crutches of a journeyman. Or mayhaps the Hand
wanted a blade? Tobho had learned to work Valyrian steel at the forges of Qohor
as a boy. Only a man who knew the spells could take old weapons and forge them
anew. “The direwolf is the sigil of House Stark, is it not? I could fashion a
direwolf helm so real that children will run from you in the street,” he vowed.
奈德啜著酒，聽他繼續往下說。照托布吹噓，不僅百花騎士整套鎧甲都是在這里買的，許多真正識貨的官家老爺也都是常客，更別提國王陛下的親弟弟藍禮大人了。不知首相大人可曾見過藍禮大人的新行頭？就是那件綠甲和黃金鹿角盔。除了他，城里沒有別的武器師傅能做出那么深的綠色，因為他小時候在科霍爾當學徒時學會了將顏色滲進精鋼里的秘訣，相較之下，涂漆或上釉根本只是小孩子把戲。還是首相大人要把好劍？托布說他在科霍爾也習得了打造瓦雷利亞鋼的技術，只有知道正確咒語的人才有辦法使老舊的武器煥然一新。“史塔克家族的紋章是冰原狼，對不對？我可以幫您打頂冰原狼頭盔，保管走在路上小孩看了就跑。”他拍胸脯保證。
Ned smiled. “Did
you make a falcon helm for Lord Arryn?”
奈德微微一笑。“這么說來，你也幫艾林大人打了頂獵鷹頭盔？”
Tobho Mott
paused a long moment and set aside his wine. “The Hand did call upon me, with
Lord Stannis, the king’s brother. I regret to say, they did not honor me with
their patronage.”
托布·莫特聞言，停頓了很長時間，最后他放下酒杯：“首相大人他是找過我，跟國王陛下的大弟史坦尼斯大人一起來的。遺憾的是我沒那個榮幸，不曾為他們效勞。”
Ned looked at
the man evenly, saying nothing, waiting. He had found over the years that
silence sometimes yielded more than questions. And so it was this time.
奈德平靜地看著他，什么也不說，只靜靜地等待。這些年來，他發現沉默常常比發問更有效，眼下正是如此。
“They asked to see the boy,” the armorer said, “so I took them back
to the forge.”
“他們說要見見那孩子，”武器師傅道，“所以我帶他們去了鍛爐。”
“The boy,” Ned echoed. He had no notion who the boy might be. “I
should like to see the boy as well.”
“那孩子，”奈德跟著重復。他根本不知道那孩子是誰。“我也想見見那孩子。”
Tobho Mott gave
him a cool, careful look. “As you wish, my lord,” he said with no trace of his
former friendliness. He led Ned out a rear door and across a narrow yard, back
to the cavernous stone barn where the work was done. When the armorer opened
the door, the blast of hot air that came through made Ned feel as though he
were walking into a dragon’s mouth. Inside, a forge blazed in each corner, and
the air stank of smoke and sulfur. Journeymen armorers glanced up from their
hammers and tongs just long enough to wipe the sweat from their brows, while
bare-chested apprentice boys worked the bellows.
托布·莫特冷靜而謹慎地看了他一眼。“遵命，大人。”他先前的友善語氣已經消失無蹤。他領著奈德走出后門，穿越一個狹長的庭院，進入寬敞的石砌谷倉，鐵匠鋪的實際工作就是在這里進行。武器師傅剛開門，一股熱氣便向外噴涌而出，教奈德覺得自己仿佛要步入火龍口中。每個角落都有一座熊熊燃燒的鍛爐，空氣里充溢著煙硝和硫磺的臭味。鐵匠工頭抬頭瞄了一眼，只來得及抹抹額際汗珠，便又繼續揮舞鐵錘和鉗子，打著赤膊的學徒則努力鼓動風爐。
The master
called over a tall lad about Robb’s age, his arms and chest corded with muscle.
“This is Lord Stark, the new Hand of the King,” he told him as the boy looked
at Ned through sullen blue eyes and pushed back sweat-soaked hair with his
fingers. Thick hair, shaggy and unkempt and black as ink. The shadow of a new
beard darkened his jaw. “This is Gendry. Strong for his age, and he works hard.
Show the Hand that helmet you made, lad.” Almost shyly, the boy led them to his
bench, and a steel helm shaped like a bull’s head, with two great curving
horns.
武器師傅把一個年齡大約與羅柏相若，兩臂和胸膛都是結實肌肉的高大男孩叫過來。“這就是史塔克大人，國王新任的首相。”男孩一邊聽他說，一邊以他那雙陰沉的藍眼睛打量奈德，并用手指把汗水浸濕的頭發往后撥。他的頭發又粗又厚，亂成一團，如墨水般漆黑。他下巴剛長出點黑胡渣。“這是詹德利，以他這年紀算得強壯，干起活來也挺勤快。小子，讓首相大人瞧瞧你打的那頂頭盔罷。”男孩有些害羞地領他們走到他休息的長凳，將一頂狀如牛頭，還有兩只弧形牛角的頭盔拿給奈德看。
Ned turned the
helm over in his hands. It was raw steel, unpolished but expertly shaped. “This
is fine work. I would be pleased if you would let me buy it.”
奈德拿來反復把玩，這頭盔是粗鋼制成，未經雕琢，但造型卻是行家里手。“做得很好，不知你可否愿意賣給我？”
The boy snatched
it out of his hands. “It’s not for sale.”
男孩一把從他手中搶過頭盔。“這不是拿來賣的。”
Tobho Mott
looked horror-struck. “Boy, this is the King’s Hand. If his lordship wants this
helm, make him a gift of it. He honors you by asking.”
托布·莫特一臉驚恐。“小子，這可是首相大人哪，大人他看得上眼，你還不快送給他，他光開口問已經很給你面子了。”
“I made it for me,” the boy said stubbornly.
“我做了給自己戴的。”男孩倔強地說。
“A hundred pardons, my lord,” his master said hurriedly to Ned. “The
boy is crude as new steel, and like new steel would profit from some beating.
That helm is journeyman’s work at best. Forgive him and I promise I will craft
you a helm like none you have ever seen.”
“大人，真是千萬個對不起，”他的主人急忙對奈德說：“這小子倔得跟生鐵似的，生鐵就是欠打。不過這頭盔也不是什么值錢家什，若您肯原諒他，我保證為您打一頂前所未有的上等貨色。”
“He’s done nothing that requires my forgiveness. Gendry, when Lord
Arryn came to see you, what did you talk about?”
“他又沒做錯事，我沒什么好原諒的。詹德利，艾林大人來看你時，你們都說了些什么？”
“He asked me questions is all, m’lord.”
“大人，他不過就問了些問題。”
“What sort of questions?”
“什么問題？”
The boy
shrugged. “How was I, and was I well treated, and if I liked the work, and
stuff about my mother. Who she was and what she looked like and all.”
男孩聳肩道：“問我過得好不好啊，主人待我如何啊，我喜不喜歡這差事啊，還有我媽的事，問她是誰、長得怎么樣這些。”
“What did you tell him?” Ned asked.
“你怎么回答？”
The boy shoved a
fresh fall of black hair off his forehead. “She died when I was little. She had
yellow hair, and sometimes she used to sing to me, I remember. She worked in an
alehouse.”
男孩撥開一撮新垂下的黑發。“我還小的時候她就死了。我只記得她的頭發是黃色的，有時會唱歌給我聽。她在酒館里做事。”
“Did Lord Stannis question you as well?”
“史坦尼斯大人也問過你問題嗎？”
“The bald one? No, not him. He never said no word, just glared at me,
like I was some raper who done for his daughter.”
“光頭的那個？沒，他沒問。他都不說話，光盯著我瞧，好像我上了他女兒似的。”
“Mind your filthy tongue,” the master said. “This is the King’s own
Hand.” The boy lowered his eyes. “A smart boy, but stubborn. That helm?.?.?.?
the others call him bullheaded, so he threw it in their teeth.”
“講話當心點，”師傅說，“你是在和國王的首相大人說話。”男孩低下頭。“這孩子聰明，偏偏就是拗。瞧這頭盔……別人罵他牛脾氣，他就打頂牛頭盔來氣他們。”
Ned touched the
boy’s head, fingering the thick black hair. “Look at me, Gendry.” The
apprentice lifted his face. Ned studied the shape of his jaw, the eyes like
blue ice. Yes, he thought, I see it. “Go back to your work, lad. I’m sorry to
have bothered you.” He walked back to the house with the master. “Who paid the
boy’s apprentice fee?” he asked lightly.
奈德摸摸男孩的頭，輕搓著他粗黑的頭發。“詹德利，看著我。”小學徒抬起頭，奈德仔細審視著他下巴的輪廓，還有那對冷若冰霜的藍眼睛。是了，他心想，我知道了。“去干活罷，小伙子。抱歉打擾你。”他隨武器師傅走回屋里。“這孩子的見習費是誰付的？”他輕描淡寫地問。
Mott looked
fretful. “You saw the boy. Such a strong boy. Those hands of his, those hands
were made for hammers. He had such promise, I took him on without a fee.”
莫特看上去相當害怕。“您自己也看到了，這孩子強壯得很，還有他那雙手，天生就是打鐵的料，這孩子有潛力，所以我沒收見習費。”
“The truth now,” Ned urged. “The streets are full of strong boys. The
day you take on an apprentice without a fee will be the day the Wall comes
down. Who paid for him?”
“跟我說實話，”奈德催促他，“強壯的小伙子滿街都是。除非長城倒塌，否則你不可能不收見習費。到底是誰付的？”
“A lord,” the master said reluctantly. “He gave no name, and wore no
sigil on his coat. He paid in gold, twice the customary sum, and said he was
paying once for the boy, and once for my silence.”
“是個官家老爺，”武器師傅很不情愿地說，“他沒說自己的名姓，外衣上也沒有家徽。他拿出手的是金子，而且付了平常的雙倍，說一半是孩子的見習費，另一半是要我別說出去。”
“Describe him.”
“說說他長什么樣。”
“He was stout, round of shoulder, not so tall as you. Brown beard,
but there was a bit of red in it, I’ll swear. He wore a rich cloak, that I do
remember, heavy purple velvet worked with silver threads, but the hood shadowed
his face and I never did see him clear.” He hesitated a moment. “My lord, I
want no trouble.”
“他很粗壯，寬肩膀，但沒您高。棕色的胡子，似乎還雜了點紅。我倒是記得他穿的披風，高檔貨，扎實的紫天鵝絨料子，滾了銀邊，可兜帽遮住了他的臉，我看不清楚。”他遲疑了一下。“大人，我不想惹麻煩。”
“None of us wants trouble, but I fear these are troubled times, Master
Mott,” Ned said. “You know who the boy is.”
“誰都不想惹麻煩。可是莫特師傅，恐怕這是個麻煩的年代。”奈德道，“你很清楚這孩子是誰。”
“I am only an armorer, my lord. I know what I’m told.”
“大人，我只是個武器師傅，不知道什么我不該知道的事。”
“You know who the boy is,” Ned repeated patiently. “That is not a
question.”
“你很清楚這孩子是誰，”奈德耐心地重復一遍。“我可不是問你知不知道。”
“The boy is my apprentice,” the master said. He looked Ned in the
eye, stubborn as old iron. “Who he was before he came to me, that’s none of my
concern.”
“這孩子是我的學徒，”武器師傅說。他迎視奈德的目光，眼神固執得如鋼鐵一般。“他來我這兒以前是誰，那不干我的事。”
Ned nodded. He
decided that he liked Tobho Mott, master armorer. “If the day ever comes when
Gendry would rather wield a sword than forge one, send him to me. He has the
look of a warrior. Until then, you have my thanks, Master Mott, and my promise.
Should I ever want a helm to frighten children, this will be the first place I
visit.”
奈德點點頭，覺得自己還挺喜歡托布·莫特這位武器大師。“哪天要是詹德利不想繼續鑄劍，想要實際弄把刀玩玩的話，叫他來找我，我看他是塊當兵的料。在那之前呢，莫特師傅，我謝謝你照顧他。我跟你保證，若是我想弄頂頭盔來嚇嚇小孩，一定第一個找你。”
His guard was
waiting outside with the horses. “Did you find anything, my lord?” Jacks asked
as Ned mounted up.
他的侍衛牽馬等在外面。“老爺，您查出什么了嗎？”奈德上馬時，杰克斯開口問。
“I did,” Ned told him, wondering. What had Jon Arryn wanted with a
king’s bastard, and why was it worth his life?
“有的。”奈德告訴他，自己卻思緒滿懷。瓊恩·艾林找國王的私生子做什么？到底什么事值得他連命都賠上？
