第二天的進展仍然不大。陰暗的天空下，斷斷續續的雨水中，他們騎過松林和沼澤，經過水塘、山洞以及一座座荒廢的古老要塞，要塞的石塊上覆滿苔蘚。每堆石頭都有一個故事，機靈狄克娓娓道來。照他的說法，蟹爪半島人用血來澆灌松樹。布蕾妮的耐心快耗盡了。“還有多遠？”她終于發問，“我們一定見識過了蟹爪半島的每一棵樹?！?/p>

The next day was the same. They rode through pines and bogs, under dark skies and intermittent rain, past sinkholes and caves and the ruins of ancient strongholds whose stones were blanketed in moss. Every heap of stones had a story, and Nimble Dick told them all. To hear him tell it, the men of Crackclaw Point had watered their pine trees with blood. Brienne’s patience soon began to fray. “How much longer?” she demanded finally. “We must have seen every tree in Crackclaw Point by now.”

“根本沒有，”克萊勃反對?！安贿^我們快到了，看哪，樹木越來越稀疏，靠近狹海了。”

“Not hardly,” said Crabb. “We’re close now. See, the woods is thinning out. We’re near the narrow sea.”

他口中的小丑或許就是我自己在水塘里的倒影，布蕾妮心想，然而走了這么遠，沒法回頭。她委實疲乏極了，長時間騎馬，更令大腿僵硬似鐵。最近，她每晚只睡四小時，睡覺時還堅持讓波德瑞克看護著。如果機靈狄克想做沒本錢的買賣，她可以肯定就是在這里動手，在他熟悉的地盤內動手。他可以將他們引進強盜窩，那兒有跟他一樣陰險的同伙；也可以領著他們兜圈子，等騎手趕上來。自離開布倫大人的城堡后，他們沒再見到那人的蹤跡，但這并不意味著甩掉了尾巴。

This fool he promised me is like to be my own reflection in a pond, Brienne thought, but it seemed pointless to turn back when she had come so far. She was weary, though, she could not deny that. Her thighs were hard as iron from the saddle, and of late she had been sleeping only four hours a night, whilst Podrick watched over her. If Nimble Dick meant to try and murder them, she was convinced it would happen here, on ground that he knew well. He could be taking them to some robbers’ den where he had kin as treacherous as he was. Or perhaps he was just leading them in circles, waiting for that rider to catch up. They had not seen any sign of the man since leaving Lord Brune’s castle, but that did not mean he had given up the hunt.

某天晚上在露營地附近踱步時，她忽然想，也許我不得不回頭干掉追兵。這想法讓她很不安。難怪，她以前的教頭便常常質疑她的意志。“你有男人的力量，”古德溫爵士不止一次告誡她，“但還是一副女人心腸。在院子里手持鈍劍訓練是一回事，將一尺長劍刺入他人腹中，并看著對方眼中的光芒漸漸消失，那又是另一回事?！睘榱俗屗鼒詮?，古德溫爵士派她去父親的屠宰場，宰殺羊羔和乳豬。嘶鳴的乳豬和尖叫的羊羔很像被嚇壞了的小孩子，等屠宰完畢，布蕾妮已是淚眼朦朧，沾滿鮮血的衣服只好交給女仆拿去燒掉。然而古德溫爵士還不滿意，“豬崽畢竟是豬崽，跟人不同。我當侍從時和你一樣年輕，當年我有個朋友又強壯、又快速、又敏捷，是訓練場上的英雄。我們都認為，有朝一日，他定能成為杰出的騎士。然后戰爭打到石階列島，我親眼看著我這位朋友將對手逼得跪倒在地，并打掉了對手手中的斧子，但當他要結果那人時，遲疑了片刻。在戰場上，片刻就等于一生。只見那人拔出匕首，插進我朋友盔甲間的縫隙中。他的力量、他的速度、他的英勇，所有艱苦訓練得來的技藝……不如戲子放的屁。一切的一切，全因為他正該痛下殺手時畏縮了。千萬記住這點，小妹妹?！?/p>

It may be that I will need to kill him, she told herself one night as she paced about the camp. The notion made her queasy. Her old master-at-arms had always questioned whether she was hard enough for battle. “You have a man’s strength in your arms,” Ser Goodwin had said to her, more than once, “but your heart is as soft as any maid’s. It is one thing to train in the yard with a blunted sword in hand, and another to drive a foot of sharpened steel into a man’s gut and see the light go out of his eyes.” To toughen her, Ser Goodwin used to send her to her father’s butcher to slaughter lambs and suckling pigs. The piglets squealed and the lambs screamed like frightened children. By the time the butchering was done Brienne had been blind with tears, her clothes so bloody that she had given them to her maid to burn. But Ser Goodwin still had doubts. “A piglet is a piglet. It is different with a man. When I was a squire young as you, I had a friend who was strong and quick and agile, a champion in the yard. We all knew that one day he would be a splendid knight. Then war came to the Stepstones. I saw my friend drive his foeman to his knees and knock the axe from his hand, but when he might have finished he held back for half a heartbeat. In battle half a heartbeat is a lifetime. The man slipped out his dirk and found a chink in my friend’s armor. His strength, his speed, his valor, all his hard-won skill … it was worth less than a mummer’s fart, because he flinched from killing. Remember that, girl.”

我會記住的，在那片松林里，她就著回憶發誓，然后坐到巖石上，拔出劍來，反復打磨。我會記住的，我祈禱自己不要畏縮。

I will, she promised his shade, there in the piney wood. She sat down on a rock, took out her sword, and began to hone its edge. I will remember, and I pray I will not flinch.

第二天早晨陰冷灰暗，根本看不見太陽升起，但當天色由黑暗轉為灰白，布蕾妮知道是準備馬鞍的時候了。他們回到松林里，機靈狄克在前面帶路，布蕾妮緊緊跟隨，波德瑞克騎馬斷后。

The next day dawned bleak and cold and overcast. They never saw the sun come up, but when the blackness turned to grey Brienne knew it was time to saddle up again. With Nimble Dick leading the way, they rode back into the pines. Brienne followed close behind him, with Podrick bringing up the rear upon his rounsey.

城堡毫無預警地出現在面前。片刻之前他們還在森林深處，一里又一里漫無目的地走著，除了松樹什么也看不到。然而當繞過一塊巨石，豁口赫然出現在前方，又走一里路后，森林突然到了盡頭。再過去是天空與海……還有一座古老破落的廢棄城堡，矗立在懸崖之巔，雜草叢生。“這就是輕語堡，”機靈狄克說，“聽，那些腦袋在說話呢?！?/p>

The castle came upon them without warning. One moment they were in the depths of the forest, with nothing but pines to see for leagues and leagues. Then they rode around a boulder, and a gap appeared ahead. A mile farther on, the forest ended abruptly. Beyond was sky and sea … and an ancient, tumbledown castle, abandoned and overgrown on the edge of a cliff. “The Whispers,” said Nimble Dick. “Have a listen. You can hear the heads.”

波德瑞克張大了嘴巴，“我聽見了。”

Podrick’s mouth gaped open. “I hear them.”

布蕾妮也聽見了。輕微的低語聲從地下和城堡內傳來，越是靠近懸崖，聲音就越大。原來是海水，她突然意識到，海水在懸崖下侵蝕出一個個空洞，當波浪穿過地底空穴和通道時，便會發出隆隆響聲?！皼]有什么腦袋，”她說，“你們聽到的低語是海浪發出的。”

Brienne heard them too. A faint, soft murmuring that seemed to be coming from the ground as much as from the castle. The sound grew louder as she neared the cliffs. It was the sea, she realized suddenly. The waves had eaten holes in the cliffs below and were rumbling through caves and tunnels beneath the earth. “There are no heads,” she said. “It’s the waves you hear whispering.”

“海浪才不會低語呢。是腦袋?！?/p>

“Waves don’t whisper. It’s heads.”

城堡由沒涂灰漿的古老巖石搭建而成，每塊石頭各不相同。巖石縫隙間長著厚厚的青苔，地基底下冒出一棵棵樹木。大多數古城堡都有神木林，看樣子，輕語堡也一樣。布蕾妮將母馬牽到懸崖邊，那里的圍墻已告崩塌，亂石堆上長出一簇簇有毒的紅色蔓藤。她將馬系在一棵樹上，然后壯著膽子盡量移到山崖邊。下方五十尺處，波浪涌入一座殘塔，塔樓后面是一個大山洞的入口。

The castle was built of old, unmortared stones, no two the same. Moss grew thick in clefts between the rocks, and trees were growing up from the foundations. Most old castles had a godswood. By the look of it, the Whispers had little else. Brienne walked her mare to the cliff’s edge, where the curtain wall had collapsed. Mounds of poisonous red ivy grew over the heap of broken stones. She tied the horse to a tree and edged as close to the precipice as she dared. Fifty feet below, the waves were swirling in and over the remnants of a shattered tower. Behind it, she glimpsed the mouth of a large cavern.

“舊燈塔，”機靈狄克走到她身后，“當我只有波德一半大的時候，它就倒塌了。本來有階梯從這里通往山洞，可惜懸崖垮塌時消失無蹤。后來走私者不再到這里登陸，因為以前可以把小船直接劃進洞里，現在不行?？吹經]？”他一只手搭在她背后，另一只手指指點點。

“That’s the old beacon tower,” said Nimble Dick as he came up behind her. “It fell when I was half as old as Pods here. Used to be steps down to the cove, but when the cliff collapsed they went too. The smugglers stopped landing here after that. Time was, they could row their boats into the cave, but no more. See?” He put one hand on her back, and pointed with the other.

布蕾妮不由得起了雞皮疙瘩。只需推一把，我就會摔下去跟殘塔做伴。她連忙退后一步，“把手拿開。”

Brienne’s flesh prickled. One shove, and I’ll be down there with the tower. She stepped back. “Keep your hands off me.”

克萊勃扮個鬼臉。“我只不過……”

Crabb made a face. “I was only …”

“我才不管你怎么想。城門在哪兒？”

“I don’t care what you were only. Where’s the gate?”

“在另一邊，”他猶豫不決。“你那小丑，他不是個記仇的人吧？”他不安地問?！拔业囊馑际牵蛲砦覄傁氲剑苍S會生機靈老狄克的氣，因為我賣給他地圖，而且事先沒說明走私者已不在這里登陸了。”

“Around t’other side.” He hesitated. “This fool o’ yours, he’s not a man to hold a grudge, is he?” he said nervously. “I mean, last night I got to thinking that he might be angry at old Nimble Dick, on account o’ that map I sold him, and how I left out that the smugglers don’t land here no more.”

“你馬上就能拿到金幣，這筆錢完全夠你退還他支付的費用。”布蕾妮無法想象唐托斯·霍拉德能構成任何威脅，“要是他真在這里的話。”

“With the gold that you’ve got coming, you can give him back whatever he paid you for your help.” Brienne could not imagine Dontos Hollard posing a threat. “That is, if he’s even here.”

他們繞城墻走了一圈。城堡是三角形，每個角都有方形塔樓。城門幾乎完全腐朽，布蕾妮伸手去拉，結果木頭立刻斷裂，潮濕的長條形碎木剝落下來，半扇門砸到她身上。城堡里有更多的深綠陰影，森林早已翻越墻壁，吞沒了主堡與外庭。大門后有道鐵閘，齒尖深陷入泥濘的地表，鐵門上都是紅色銹跡，當布蕾妮搖晃時，它紋絲不動?！昂芫脹]人用了?！?/p>

They made a circuit of the walls. The castle had been triangular, with square towers at each corner. Its gates were badly rotted. When Brienne tugged at one, the wood cracked and peeled away in long wet splinters, and half the gate came down on her. She could see more green gloom inside. The forest had breached the walls, and swallowed keep and bailey. But there was a portcullis behind the gate, its teeth sunk deep into the soft muddy ground. The iron was red with rust, but it held when Brienne rattled it. “No one’s used this gate for a long time.”

“我可以爬進去，”波德瑞克提議，“從懸崖邊上。那兒的墻都倒了。”

“I could climb over,” offered Podrick. “By the cliff. Where the wall fell down.”

“不行，太危險。那兒的石頭是松的，而且紅色的蔓藤有毒。找門吧，城堡定然有邊門?！?/p>

“It’s too dangerous. Those stones looked loose to me, and that red ivy’s poisonous. There has to be a postern gate.”

他們果然在城堡北面找到了邊門，半藏在一大叢黑莓樹后面。莓子已被摘光，灌木叢也被砍掉了很多，辟出一條小徑，通往那扇門。這些砍掉的斷枝讓布蕾妮憂心忡忡?！安痪们埃瑒倓傆腥私涍^?！?/p>

They found it on the north side of the castle, half-hidden behind a huge blackberry bramble. The berries had all been picked, and half the bush had been hacked down to cut a path to the door. The sight of the broken branches filled Brienne with disquiet. “Someone’s been through here, and recently.”

“是你的小丑和女娃兒們，”克萊勃道，“瞧，我說的話是真的?！?/p>

“Your fool and those girls,” said Crabb. “I told you.”

珊莎？布蕾妮無法相信。即便唐托斯·霍拉德那樣的醉鬼，也不至于糊涂到帶她來這么荒僻的地方。廢墟中有古怪，史塔克女孩不大可能在這里……但她必須去查個清楚。確實有人在，她心想，需要躲起來的人?！拔疫M去，”她說，“克萊勃，你跟我一道。波德瑞克，我要你看馬。”

Sansa? Brienne could not believe it. Even a wine-soaked sot like Dontos Hollard would have better sense than to bring her to this bleak place. Something about the ruins filled her with unease. She would not find the Stark girl here … but she had to have a look. Someone was here, she thought. Someone who needed to stay hidden. “I’m going in,” she said. “Crabb, you’ll come with me. Podrick, I want you to watch the horses.”

“我也要進去。我是個侍從。我可以戰斗?！?/p>

“I want to come too. I’m a squire. I can fight.”

“所以我才要你留在原地。瞧，林子里也許有歹徒，馬匹不能沒人保護，否則萬一出了事，我們怎么回去呢？”

“That’s why I want you to stay here. There may be outlaws in these woods. We dare not leave the horses unprotected.”

波德瑞克伸出一只腳在石頭上蹭了蹭：“遵命！”

Podrick scuffed at a rock with his boot. “As you say.”

她擠進黑莓叢中，拽拉生銹的鐵環。邊門卡了一會兒，然后陡然打開，伴隨著門鏈刺耳的抗議。這聲響讓布蕾妮脖子后面汗毛直豎。她拔劍出鞘，即使穿著鎖甲和熟皮甲，仍舊感覺像光著身子。

She shouldered through the blackberries and pulled at a rusted iron ring. The postern door resisted for a moment, then jerked open, its hinges screaming protest. The sound made the hairs on the back of Brienne’s neck stand up. She drew her sword. Even in mail and boiled leather, she felt naked.

“走啊，小姐，”機靈狄克在她身后催促，“你怕什么呢？老克萊勃死了一千年了?！?/p>

“Go on, m’lady,” urged Nimble Dick, behind her. “What are you waiting for? Old Crabb’s been dead a thousand years.”

我怕什么呢？實在太傻了，布蕾妮告訴自己。那聲音不過是海浪在城堡底下的空穴中無休止地沖刷，隨著波浪起伏時高時低。然而它聽上去確實像是低語，片刻之間，她似乎看到那些腦袋，擺在架子上，互相低聲咕噥?！霸缰牢以撌褂媚潜Α！逼渲幸粋€說，“早知道我該使用那柄魔劍。”

What was she waiting for? Brienne told herself that she was being foolish. The sound was just the sea, echoing endlessly through the caverns beneath the castle, rising and falling with each wave. It did sound like whispering, though, and for a moment she could almost see the heads, sitting on their shelves and muttering to one another. “I should have used the sword” one of them was saying. “I should have used the magic sword.”

“波德瑞克，”布蕾妮說，“我的鋪蓋卷里有把帶鞘的劍。把它拿過來?！?/p>

“Podrick,” said Brienne. “There’s a sword and scabbard wrapped up in my bedroll. Bring them here to me.”

“是，爵士。小姐。這就去拿?！蹦泻⒈歼^去。

“Yes, ser. My lady. I will.” The boy went running off.

“劍？”機靈狄克撓撓耳背，“你手上有一把了，還要另一把干什么？”

“A sword?” Nimble Dick scratched behind his ear. “You got a sword in your hand. What do you need another for?”

“這把給你。”布蕾妮劍柄向上交給他。

“This one’s for you.” Brienne offered him the hilt.

“真的？”克萊勃猶猶豫豫地伸出手，仿佛那把劍會咬人一樣，“疑神疑鬼的處女給老狄克一把劍？”

“For true?” Crabb reached out hesitantly, as if the blade might bite him. “The mistrustful maid’s giving old Dick a sword?”

“你知道怎么使劍吧？”

“You do know how to use one?”

“嚇！我是克萊勃家的人，”他接過長劍，“我有老克萊倫斯爵士的血統?！彼诳罩袚]了一下，朝她咧嘴笑笑，“人們常說，領主都是靠劍起家的?！?/p>

“I’m a Crabb.” He snatched the longsword from her hand. “I got the same blood as old Ser Clarence.” He slashed the air and grinned at her. “It’s the sword that makes the lord, some say.”

波德瑞克·派恩小心翼翼地捧著“守誓劍”回來，好像捧著一個嬰兒。目睹那華麗的劍鞘和裝飾的純金獅子頭，機靈狄克打了個呼哨，但等她抽出劍來，練習劈砍，他立刻安靜下來。它連發出的聲響都比普通的劍來得銳利?！案o我?！彼龂诟揽巳R勃，隨即側身潛入邊門，低頭躲過門上方的拱梁。

When Podrick Payne returned, he held Oathkeeper as gingerly as if it were a child. Nimble Dick gave a whistle at the sight of the ornate scabbard with its row of lion’s heads, but grew quiet when she drew the blade and tried a cut. Even the sound of it is sharper than an ordinary sword. “With me,” she told Crabb. She slipped sideways through the postern, ducking her head to pass beneath the doorway’s arch.

簇葉叢生的外庭出現在面前，左邊是大門，還有一座崩塌的馬廄，畜欄里多有小樹頂出來，穿透褐色的干茅草屋頂。右邊有一條腐爛的木樓梯，向下通往黑漆漆的地牢或者地窖。主堡成了一堆長滿綠色和紫色苔蘚的亂石，院子里滿是野草和掉落的松針，一排排一列列莊嚴肅穆的士卒松四處挺立，但在它們中間有一棵蒼白的異類，一棵細窄的小魚梁木，樹干白得像純潔的處女，深紅色葉子隨著枝杈延伸舒展。再過去便是倒塌的城墻，空曠的天空和?！?/p>

The bailey opened up before her, overgrown. To her left was the main gate, and the collapsed shell of what might have been a stable. Saplings were poking out of half the stalls and growing up through the dry brown thatch of its roof. To her right she saw rotted wooden steps descending into the darkness of a dungeon or a root cellar. Where the keep had been was a pile of collapsed stones, overgrown with green and purple moss. The yard was all weeds and pine needles. Soldier pines were everywhere, drawn up in solemn ranks. In their midst was a pale stranger; a slender young weirwood with a trunk as white as a cloistered maid. Dark red leaves sprouted from its reaching branches. Beyond was the emptiness of sky and sea where the wall had collapsed …

……以及一堆篝火的余燼。

… and the remnants of a fire.

低語聲持續不斷地在她耳邊嘀咕。布蕾妮跪倒在火堆邊，撿起一根焦黑的樹枝，嗅了嗅，又撥撥灰燼。昨晚有人生火。或者是在向過往船只發信號。

The whispers nibbled at her ears, insistent. Brienne knelt beside the fire. She picked up a blackened stick, sniffed at it, stirred the ashes. Someone was trying to keep warm last night. Or else they were trying to send a signal to a passing ship.

“喂——”機靈狄克喊，“有人嗎？”

“Halloooooo,” called Nimble Dick. “Anyone here?”

“安靜?！辈祭倌莞嬲]他。

“Be quiet,” Brienne told him.

“有人躲起來了。有人想打量打量我們，然后再現身?！彼叩酵ㄍ叵碌臉翘莞埃蚝诎抵袕埻??！拔埂彼趾埃跋旅嬗腥藛?？”

“Someone might be hiding. Wanting to get a look at us before they show themself.” He walked to where the steps went down beneath the ground, and peered down into the darkness. “Hallooooo,” he called again. “Anyone down there?”

布蕾妮看見一棵小樹搖晃了一下。灌木叢中鉆出來一個人，渾身泥塵，仿佛是從地底冒出來的植物。他手握一把斷劍，但她在乎的不是這個，而是他的臉，小眼睛，寬闊扁平的鼻子。

Brienne saw a sapling sway. From the bushes slid a man, so caked with dirt that he looked as if he had sprouted from the earth. A broken sword was in his hand, but it was his face that gave her pause, the small eyes and wide flat nostrils.

她認得那鼻子。她認得那雙眼睛。他的朋友們管叫他“豬崽”帕格。

She knew that nose. She knew those eyes. Pyg, his friends had called him.

一切仿佛在一個心跳之間發生。第二個人悄悄從井邊爬上來，聲音比蛇滑過潮濕的樹葉還要輕。他戴一頂鐵半盔，盔上扎著褪色的紅絲頭巾，手執一支粗短的飛矛——這人布蕾妮也認識。她身后窸窸窣窣，又一個腦袋從紅色的樹葉間探出來，向下張望?？巳R勃就站在魚梁木下，抬頭便看到那張臉。“原來在這兒呢，”他朝布蕾妮喊，“你的小丑?！?/p>

Everything seemed to happen in a heartbeat. A second man slipped over the lip of the well, making no more noise than a snake might make slithering across a pile of wet leaves. He wore an iron halfhelm wrapped in stained red silk, and had a short, thick throwing spear in hand. Brienne knew him too. From behind her came a rustling as a head poked down through the red leaves. Crabb was standing underneath the weirwood. He looked up and saw the face. “Here,” he called to Brienne. “It’s your fool.”

“狄克，”她急促地警告，“快過來?！?/p>

“Dick,” she called urgently, “to me.”

夏格維翻身下樹，發出一陣刺耳的笑聲。他的小丑服褪色得厲害，沾滿污漬，看上去是褐色，不是灰色或粉色。他手上拿的也并非表演道具，而是一把三頭流星錘，三顆帶刺的鐵球通過鏈條拴在木柄上。只見他猛地一砸，克萊勃的一只膝蓋便迸裂開來，鮮血和碎骨飛濺。狄克應聲倒下。“真有趣?！毕母窬S嘶啞地說。布蕾妮交給狄克的劍從他手中飛了出去，消失在雜草叢中。他在地上翻滾，一邊嘶喊一邊抓向自己殘廢的膝蓋。“哎喲，看哪，”夏格維說，“我們的走私販狄克先生，給我們畫地圖的先生。您大老遠趕過來，是要還我們錢嗎？”

Shagwell dropped from the weirwood, braying laughter. He was garbed in motley, but so faded and stained that it showed more brown than grey or pink. In place of a jester’s flail he had a triple morningstar, three spiked balls chained to a wooden haft. He swung it hard and low, and one of Crabb’s knees exploded in a spray of blood and bone. “That’s funny,” Shagwell crowed as Dick fell. The sword she’d given him went flying from his hand and vanished in the weeds. He writhed on the ground, screaming and clutching at the ruins of his knee. “Oh, look,” said Shagwell, “it’s Smuggler Dick, the one who made the map for us. Did you come all this way to give us back our gold?”

“求求你，”狄克嗚咽道，“求求你，不要，我的腿……”

“Please,” Dick whimpered, “please don’t, my leg …”

“疼嗎？我會止疼哦?！?/p>

“Does it hurt? I can make it stop.”

“別碰他?！辈祭倌莺暗?。

“Leave him be,” said Brienne.

“不要！”狄克厲聲尖叫，一邊舉起沾滿鮮血的雙手護住頭部。夏格維將刺球繞著他腦袋轉了一圈，然后砸向臉中央，發出一陣令人作嘔的碎裂聲。隨后是沉默，布蕾妮聽到自己的心跳。

“DON’T!” shrieked Dick, lifting bloody hands to shield his head. Shagwell whirled the spiked ball once around his head and brought it down in the middle of Crabb’s face. There was a sickening crunch. In the silence that followed, Brienne could hear the sound of her own heart.

“壞夏格，”從井里爬出來的人說。他看見布蕾妮的臉，哈哈大笑?！坝质悄氵@惡婆娘？怎么，來抓人？還是思念你的好老公們了呢？”

“Bad Shags,” said the man who’d come creeping from the well. When he saw Brienne’s face, he laughed. “You again, woman? What, come to hunt us down? Or did you miss our friendly faces?”

夏格維兩只腳輪流跳來跳去，甩著流星錘?！八莵碚椅业摹Ｋ客矶級粢娢遗叮慨斔咽种覆暹M縫里的時候。她想要我，伙計們，大馬臉思念她快樂的夏格！瞧好了，我要操她的屁眼，給她灌滿五顏六色的種子，直到她為我下個小崽崽?！?/p>

Shagwell danced from foot to foot and spun his flail. “It’s me she come for. She dreams of me every night, when she sticks her fingers up her slit. She wants me, lads, the big horse missed her merry Shags! I’m going to fuck her up the arse and pump her full of motley seed, until she whelps a little me.”

“那樣的話你得用另一個洞，夏格。”提蒙用拉長的多恩腔調說。

“You need to use a different hole for that, Shags,” said Timeon, in his Dornish drawl.

“保險起見，我最好把她所有的洞都操一遍?！彼苿拥剿疫?，而帕格繞到左邊，迫使她向參差的懸崖邊退去。三個人搭船，布蕾妮記起來?！澳銈冎挥腥齻€？”

“I best use all her holes, then. Just to make certain.” He moved to her right as Pyg was circling around to her left, forcing her back toward the ragged edge of the cliff. Passage for three, Brienne remembered. “There are only three of you.”

提蒙聳聳肩，“離開赫倫堡后，我們各奔東西。烏斯威克帶他那幫人向南騎往舊鎮；羅爾杰認為可以從鹽場鎮溜走；我和我的伙計們則去了女泉城，結果上不了船?！倍喽魅颂痫w矛。“嘿，你咬瓦格那口可夠狠的，咬得他耳朵變黑了，滲出膿水。羅爾杰和烏斯威克提議離開，但山羊非要我們守住他的城堡。他說自己是赫倫堡伯爵，沒有人可以從他手中奪走它。他說這話時跟平常一樣唾沫橫飛。后來我們聽說魔山一點一點地將他殺死，第一天砍一只手，第二天砍一只腳，砍得干凈利落，再把斷肢包扎起來，好讓霍特死不了。他本打算最后砍山羊的雞巴，不料來了一只鳥，要召他去君臨，因此不得不提前動手，然后才離開?！?/p>

Timeon shrugged. “We all went our own ways, after we left Harrenhal. Urswyck and his lot rode south for Oldtown. Rorge thought he might slip out at Saltpans. Me and my lads made for Maidenpool, but we couldn’t get near a ship.” The Dornishman hefted his spear. “You did for Vargo with that bite, you know. His ear turned black and started leaking pus. Rorge and Urswyck were for leaving, but the Goat says we got to hold his castle. Lord of Harrenhal, he says he is, no one was going to take it off him. He said it slobbery, the way he always talked. We heard the Mountain killed him piece by piece. A hand one day, a foot the next, lopped off neat and clean. They bandaged up the stumps so Hoat didn’t die. He was saving his cock for last, but some bird called him to King’s Landing, so he finished it and rode off.”

“我不是來找你們。我在找……”她差點脫口而出“我的妹妹”“……找一個小丑?！?/p>

“I am not here for you. I am looking for my …” She almost said my sister. “… for a fool.”

“我就是小丑。”夏格維愉快地宣布。

“I’m a fool,” Shagwell announced happily.

“另一個小丑，”這回布蕾妮沒忍住，“他跟一名貴族女孩在一起，那女孩是臨冬城史塔克公爵的女兒。”

“The wrong fool,” blurted Brienne. “The one I want is with a highborn girl, the daughter of Lord Stark of Winterfell.”

“你找的是獵狗，”提蒙說，“不巧他不在這兒。這兒只有我們?！?/p>

“Then it’s the Hound you want,” said Timeon. “He’s not here neither, as it happens. Just us.”

“桑鐸·克里岡？”布蕾妮問，“你什么意思？”

“Sandor Clegane?” said Brienne. “What do you mean?”

“他挾持了史塔克家的女孩。據說那女孩正往奔流城去，卻被他半路偷走了。該死的好運氣的狗?！?/p>

“He’s the one that’s got the Stark girl. The way I hear it, she was making for Riverrun, and he stole her. Damned dog.”

奔流城，布蕾妮心想，她要去奔流城，投奔舅舅。“你怎么知道？”

Riverrun, thought Brienne. She was making for Riverrun. For her uncles. “How do you know?”

“貝里那伙人當中的一個招的。閃電大王也在到處找她，他派手下人沿三叉戟河上下搜尋。離開赫倫堡后，我們碰巧遇到其中三位，有一人臨死前吐露了情報?！?/p>

“Had it from one of Beric’s bunch. The lightning lord is looking for her too. He’s sent his men all up and down the Trident, sniffing after her. We chanced on three of them after Harrenhal, and winkled the tale from one before he died.”

“他可能說謊。”

“He might have lied.”

“有可能，但他沒有，因為我們還聽說獵狗在十字路口的客棧殺了三個他哥哥的人，當時那女孩正跟他在一起。店家發誓說是那樣，然后羅爾杰殺了他，店里的婊子們也都這么講。她們可真難看哪，不過沒你丑，現在嘛……”

“He might have, but he didn’t. Later on, we heard how the Hound slew three of his brother’s men at an inn by the crossroads. The girl was with him there. The innkeep swore to it before Rorge killed him, and the whores said the same. An ugly bunch, they were. Not so ugly as you, mind you, but still …”

他想分散我的注意力，用話語來麻痹我，布蕾妮意識到。帕格逼近過來，夏格維朝她一躍。她連忙向后退開。若是不趕緊采取行動，就會被逼下懸崖。“別過來，”她警告他們。

He is trying to distract me, Brienne realized, to lull me with his voice. Pyg was edging closer. Shagwell took a hop toward her. She backed away from them. They will back me off the cliff if I let them. “Stay away,” she warned them.

“我想干你的鼻孔，小妞，”夏格維宣布，“很有趣吧？”

“I think I’m going to fuck you up the nose, wench,” Shagwell announced. “Won’t that be amusing?”

“他的雞巴太小了，”提蒙解釋，“扔下那把漂漂亮亮的劍吧，也許我們會溫柔點兒，婆娘。我們只不過需要些金子，來付給走私者而已?！?/p>

“He has a very small cock,” Timeon explained. “Drop that pretty sword and might be we’ll go gentle on you, woman. We need gold to pay these smugglers, that’s all.”

“交出金子，就放我們走？”

“And if I give you gold, you’ll let us go?”

“我們會的，”提蒙微笑，“等大伙兒都干過你之后，會付費的，而且我們將按普通妓女的標準付費，一枚銀幣一次；你要是不干，我們還是會拿走金子，然后再強暴你，再讓你瞧瞧魔山對付瓦格大人的手法。嘿，你選哪一樣？”

“We will.” Timeon smiled. “Once you’ve fucked the lot of us. We’ll pay you like a proper whore. A silver for each fuck. Or else we’ll take the gold and rape you anyway, and do you like the Mountain did Lord Vargo. What’s your choice?”

“這樣?！辈祭倌莩粮駬溥^去。

“This.” Brienne threw herself toward Pyg.

他急忙提起斷劍護臉，但當他將劍舉高，布蕾妮卻往低處攻。守誓劍穿過皮革、羊毛、皮膚與肌肉，直抵傭兵的大腿骨。帕格倒下的同時狂野地反手一劈，斷劍擦到布蕾妮的鎖甲，然后他無助地仰面跌地。布蕾妮順勢將劍刺入他咽喉，使勁一擰，再拔出來，緊接著一轉身，提蒙的矛剛好劃過臉頰。我沒有畏縮，她心想，鮮紅的血液在臉上流淌，你看見了嗎，古德溫爵士？她幾乎感覺不到傷口。

He jerked his broken blade up to protect his face, but as he went high she went low. Oathkeeper bit through leather, wool, skin, and muscle, into the sellsword’s thigh. Pyg cut back wildly as his leg went out from under him. His broken sword scraped against her chain mail before he landed on his back. Brienne stabbed him through the throat, gave the blade a hard turn, and slid it out, whirling just as Timeon’s spear came flashing past her face. I did not flinch, she thought, as blood ran red down her cheek. Did you see, Ser Goodwin? She hardly felt the cut.

“輪到你了，”她告訴提蒙，多恩人拔出第二支矛，比剛才那支更粗更短?！叭影?。”

“Your turn,” she told Timeon, as the Dornishman pulled out a second spear, shorter and thicker than the first. “Throw it.”

“好讓你躲過去后，朝我沖鋒？我會死得跟帕格一樣慘。不。你來解決她，夏格?！?/p>

“So you can dance away and charge me? I’d end up dead as Pyg. No. Get her, Shags.”

“這是你的活兒，”夏格維說，“瞧，看到她怎么對付帕格的嗎？她一定是來月經了，給經血弄瘋了?！毙〕笤谏砗螅崦稍谇懊妫瑹o論她轉向哪邊，總有一個在背后。

“You get her,” Shagwell said. “Did you see what she did to Pyg? She’s mad with moon blood.” The fool was behind her, Timeon in front. No matter how she turned, one was at her back.

“解決她，”提蒙催促，“讓你奸尸。”

“Get her,” urged Timeon, “and you can fuck her corpse.”

“喲，你對我真好?！绷餍清N在旋轉。選一個，布蕾妮告訴自己，選一個，趕快選一個。說時遲那時快，一顆石頭不知從何處飛來，擊中了夏格維的腦袋。布蕾妮沒有猶豫，她沖向提蒙。

“Oh, you do love me.” The morningstar was whirling. Choose one, Brienne told herself. Choose one and kill him quickly. Then a stone came out of nowhere, and hit Shagwell in the head. Brienne did not hesitate. She flew at Timeon.

他比帕格厲害，無奈手上只有一支投擲用的短矛，而她有把瓦雷利亞鋼劍。守誓劍在她手中仿佛獲得了生命，她也從來沒有如此敏捷。劍化灰影，提蒙刺傷了她肩膀，但她削去提蒙一只耳朵和半邊臉，砍斷矛頭，然后這把一尺之長、波紋絢麗的神兵穿透了鎖甲鏈環，插入他腹中。

He was better than Pyg, but he had only a short throwing spear, and she had a Valyrian steel blade. Oathkeeper was alive in her hands. She had never been so quick. The blade became a grey blur. He wounded her in the shoulder as she came at him, but she slashed off his ear and half his cheek, hacked the head off his spear, and put a foot of rippled steel into his belly through the links of the chain mail byrnie he was wearing.

布蕾妮抽回劍，血槽中浸滿了鮮紅的血。提蒙試圖繼續抵抗，他從腰帶里抓出一把匕首，因此布蕾妮砍掉了他的手。這一劍是為詹姆?！笆ツ复缺倍喽魅舜謿?，嘴冒血泡，斷腕處血如泉涌。“了結我吧。送我回多恩，你這該死的婊子?！?/p>

Timeon was still trying to fight as she pulled her blade from him, its fullers running red with blood. He clawed at his belt and came up with a dagger, so Brienne cut his hand off. That one was for Jaime. “Mother have mercy,” the Dornishman gasped, the blood bubbling from his mouth and spurting from his wrist. “Finish it. Send me back to Dorne, you bloody bitch.”

她了結了提蒙。

She did.

她轉過身，發現夏格維雙膝跪地，暈乎乎的，正在摸索流星錘。等他踉踉蹌蹌地站起身，又一塊石頭砸中他耳朵。波德瑞克爬上倒塌的城墻，神氣活現地站在蔓藤中間，手中拿著石頭?！拔腋嬖V過你，我可以戰斗！”他朝下面喊。

Shagwell was on his knees when she turned, looking dazed as he fumbled for the morningstar. As he staggered to his feet, another stone slammed him in the ear. Podrick had climbed the fallen wall and was standing amongst the ivy glowering, a fresh rock in his hand. “I told you I could fight!” he shouted down.

夏格維哆哆嗦嗦地試圖爬走?！拔彝督担毙〕蠛?，“我投降。千萬別傷害討人喜歡的夏格維。我太可愛了，我不能死。”

Shagwell tried to crawl away. “I yield,” the fool cried, “I yield. You mustn’t hurt sweet Shagwell, I’m too droll to die.”

“你也不比其他人強。你奸淫擄掠，無惡不作?！?/p>

“You are no better than the rest of them. You have robbed and raped and murdered.”

“哦，是的，是的，我不否認我的罪行……但我是最有趣的，我會講笑話，我會蹦蹦跳跳。我會逗老爺們開心?！?/p>

“Oh, I have, I have, I shan’t deny it … but I’m amusing, with all my japes and capers. I make men laugh.”

“還會讓女人們哭泣?！?/p>

“And women weep.”

“那是我的錯嗎？女人沒有幽默感?！?/p>

“Is that my fault? Women have no sense of humor.”

布蕾妮垂下守誓劍?！叭ネ趬?。那兒，魚梁木底下。”她用劍指指。

Brienne lowered Oathkeeper. “Dig a grave. There, beneath the weirwood.” She pointed with her blade.

“我沒有鏟子。”

“I have no spade.”

“你有兩只手?！北饶銈兞艚o詹姆的多一只。

“You have two hands.” One more than you left Jaime.

“何必麻煩呢？把他們留給烏鴉吧。”

“Why bother? Leave them for the crows.”

“提蒙和帕格可以喂烏鴉。我得埋葬機靈狄克。他是克萊勃家族的人。這里是他的地方。”

“Timeon and Pyg can feed the crows. Nimble Dick will have a grave. He was a Crabb. This is his place.”

地面因雨水而變得濕軟，即便如此，小丑也花了白天余下的所有時間才挖出一個夠深的坑。完工后，夜幕降臨，他手上血淋淋的，全是水泡。布蕾妮將守誓劍收入鞘中，然后把狄克·克萊勃抱到坑邊。他的臉慘不忍睹。“很抱歉，我一直不信任你，現在說什么都晚了?！?/p>

The ground was soft from rain, but even so it took the fool the rest of the day to dig down deep enough. Night was falling by the time he was done, and his hands were bloody and blistered. Brienne sheathed Oathkeeper, gathered up Dick Crabb, and carried him to the hole. His face was hard to look on. “I’m sorry that I never trusted you. I don’t know how to do that anymore.”

她一邊跪下來放好尸體，一邊想，我背對小丑，他應該孤注一擲了。

As she knelt to lay the body down, she thought, The fool will make his try now, whilst my back is turned.

果然，她聽見他刺耳的喘息聲，緊接著波德瑞克大聲示警。夏格維抓了一塊凹凸不平的巖石，布蕾妮卻早已將匕首藏在袖子里。

She heard his ragged breathing half a heartbeat before Podrick cried out his warning. Shagwell had a jagged chunk of rock clutched in one hand. Brienne had her dagger up her sleeve.

匕首總能打敗石頭，正如石頭總能打敗雞蛋。

A dagger will beat a rock almost every time.

她擋開他的胳膊，將鐵刃刺入他肚子里?！靶Π?，”她朝他怒吼。他卻只有呻吟?！靶Π?，”她重復，用一只手掐他喉嚨，另一只手捅他?！靶Π。　彼煌５睾?，一遍又一遍，直到鮮血染紅了手腕，死亡的氣味令她窒息。夏格維一聲也沒笑，所有的抽泣都是布蕾妮自己發出的。她扔下匕首，渾身顫抖。

She knocked aside his arm and punched the steel into his bowels. “Laugh,” she snarled at him. He moaned instead. “Laugh,” she repeated, grabbing his throat with one hand and stabbing at his belly with the other. “Laugh!” She kept saying it, over and over, until her hand was red up to the wrist and the stink of the fool’s dying was like to choke her. But Shagwell never laughed. The sobs that Brienne heard were all her own. When she realized that, she threw down her knife and shuddered.

波德瑞克幫她將機靈狄克放入墓穴中。等他們弄完，月亮已經升起。布蕾妮搓掉手上的泥，扔了兩枚金龍進去。

Podrick helped her lower Nimble Dick into his hole. By the time they were done the moon was rising. Brienne rubbed the dirt from her hands and tossed two dragons down into the grave.

“你為什么這么做，小姐？爵士？”波德問。

“Why did you do that, my lady? Ser?” asked Pod.

“這是我答應他找到小丑的報酬?！?/p>

“It was the reward I promised him for finding me the fool.”

他們身后爆發出一陣大笑。她立刻拔出守誓劍，轉身準備對付更多血戲子……結果卻發現海爾·亨特盤腿坐在殘垣斷壁上。“假如地獄里有妓院，這可憐蟲會感激你，”騎士大聲說，“不然的話，你就是在浪費金錢?！?/p>

Laughter sounded from behind them. She ripped Oathkeeper from her sheath and whirled, expecting more Bloody Mummers … but it was only Hyle Hunt atop the crumbling wall, his legs crossed. “If there are brothels down in hell, the wretch will thank you,” the knight called down. “Elsewise, that’s a waste of good gold.”

“我信守諾言。你來這兒干嗎？”

“I keep my promises. What are you doing here?”

“藍道大人吩咐我跟著你。若是你運氣奇佳，湊巧遇上珊莎·史塔克，他要我將她帶回女泉城。不用怕，他命令我不準傷害你?！?/p>

“Lord Randyll bid me follow you. If by some freak’s chance you stumbled onto Sansa Stark, he told me to bring her back to Maidenpool. Have no fear, I was commanded not to harm you.”

布蕾妮嗤之以鼻?！昂孟衲隳軌蛞粯??！?/p>

Brienne snorted. “As if you could.”

“現在你打算怎么辦，小姐？”

“What will you do now, my lady?”

“埋了他?！?/p>

“Cover him.”

“我是指那女孩。珊莎夫人?！?/p>

“About the girl, I meant. The Lady Sansa.”

布蕾妮想了一會兒，“假如提蒙所說是真，她正往奔流城趕去，路上被獵狗抓住了。如果我找到他……”

Brienne thought a moment. “She was making for Riverrun, if Timeon told it true. Somewhere along the way she was taken by the Hound. If I find him …”

“……他會殺了你?！?/p>

“… he’ll kill you.”

“或者我會殺了他，”她固執地說，“你愿意搭把手，幫我埋葬可憐的克萊勃嗎，爵士？”

“Or I’ll kill him,” she said stubbornly. “Will you help me cover up poor Crabb, ser?”

“真正的騎士怎能拒絕美人的請求呢？”海爾爵士從墻頭爬下來。他們一起將泥土堆到機靈狄克身上。月亮越升越高，地底的頭顱在竊竊私語，它們屬于——那些早已被遺忘的國王們。

“No true knight could refuse such beauty.” Ser Hyle climbed down from the wall. Together, they shoved the dirt on top of Nimble Dick as the moon rose higher in the sky, and down below the ground the heads of forgotten kings whispered secrets.