冰与火之歌Ⅴ：魔龙的狂舞 中英文双语同步对照版 第66篇 TYR

Chapter 第六十六章 提利昂（十二）

TYRION

那堆羊皮纸高的惊人。提利昂看着它们叹了口气。“我知道你们有一群的弟兄，但是这就是一个兄弟对另一个兄弟怀有的爱意么？信任在那里？那种只有一起战斗的兄弟才会懂得的友谊、基础的关心、深沉的爱恋？”

The pile of parchments was formidably high. Tyrion looked at it and sighed. “I had understood you were a band of brothers. Is this the love a brother bears a brother? Where is the trust? The friendship, the fond regard, the deep affection that only men who have fought and bled together can ever know?”

“那要等时间来检验，”布朗·本·普拉姆说。

“All in time,” said Brown Ben Plumm.

“在你签约后，”墨水瓶边削一只羽毛笔边说。

“After you sign,” said Inkpots, sharpening a quill.

狡猾的卡斯伯利欧摸着他的剑柄。“若你现在就想开始放血，我很乐意为你服务。”

Kasporio the Cunning touched his sword hilt. “If you would like to start the bleeding now, I will happ’ly oblige you.”

“真感谢您慷慨的提议，”提利昂说。“我想还是不了。”

“How kind of you to offer,” said Tyrion. “I think not.”

墨水瓶把羊皮纸铺在提利昂面前并递给他羽毛笔。“这是你的墨水，来自古瓦伦提斯。这个，和真正的学士的黑布一样持久的斜纹布。你要做的就是签名并把收据给我，剩下的我来就好。”

Inkpots placed the parchments before Tyrion and handed him the quill. “Here is your ink. From Old Volantis, this. ’Twill last as long as proper maester’s black. All you need do is sign and pass the notes to me. I’ll do the rest.”

提利昂给了他一个扭曲的微笑。“我能先看一看么？”

Tyrion gave him a crooked grin. “Might I read them first?”

“如果你愿意的话。他们总的来说都一样。除了最底下的那个，不过我们过不了多久就会到那儿的。”

“If you like. They are all the same, by and large. Except for the ones at the bottom, but we’ll get to those in due course.”

哦，我确定我们会的。对大多数人来说，加入一个军团没什么代价，但是他可不是什么“大多数”，他在墨水瓶里蘸了蘸羽毛笔，趴在第一张羊皮纸上，停了一下，向上看。“你介意我签上尤罗或者雨果·希山么？”

Oh, I am sure we will. For most men, there was no cost to joining a company, but he was not most men. He dipped the quill into the inkpot, leaned over the first parchment, paused, looked up. “Would you prefer me to sign Yollo or Hugor Hill?”

布朗·本眯起了眼。“你介意被遣回耶赞的继承人那里或者掉脑袋么？”

Brown Ben crinkled up his eyes. “Would you prefer to be returned to Yezzan’s heirs or just beheaded?”

侏儒大笑着在羊皮纸上签了名，兰尼斯特家族的提利昂。当他把羊皮纸递给左边的墨水瓶是，他翻了一下下面的那堆纸。“这有多少？50张？60张？我想你们军团有500人的规模吧？”

The dwarf laughed and signed the parchment, Tyrion of House Lannister. As he passed it left to Inkpots, he riffled through the pile underneath. “There are … what, fifty? Sixty? I’d thought there were five hundred Second Sons.”

“现阶段是513人，”墨水瓶说。“你签了我们就会有514人了。”

“Five hundred thirteen at present,” Inkpots said. “When you sign our book, we will be five hundred fourteen.”

“而其中十分之一会得到一张收据？那看起来不怎么公平。我还指望你们是有福同享有难同当的自由伙伴呢。”他签署了另一张表单。

“So only one in ten receives a note? That hardly seems fair. I thought you were all share-and-share-alike in the free companies.” He signed another sheet.

布朗·本轻笑。“哦，共享一切。但是各不相同。‘次子团’不是不像个家庭……”

Brown Ben chuckled. “Oh, all share. But not alike. The Second Sons are not unlike a family …”

“而且每个家庭都有对它垂涎的表兄。”提利昂又签署了另一张单子。当他把羊皮纸递给会计的时候它们清脆的折皱。“在凯岩城的地牢里，我的父亲大人关着些我们中间最糟糕的。”他把羽毛笔插进墨水瓶。兰尼斯特家族的提利昂，他划去了这个名字，承诺给受益人一百个金龙。每用羽毛笔写下一次，我就变的越来越穷……或者将会，若我不在一开始就是个穷光蛋的话。有一天他会为这些签名后悔的，但是不是今天，他吹了吹湿润的墨水印，划给会计羊皮纸然后签下一张，一次又一次。“这实在太刺激人了，我会让你知道的，”他在签名之间告诉他们。“在维斯特洛，兰尼斯特家的人可是一字千金。”

“… and every family has its drooling cousins.” Tyrion signed another note. The parchment crinkled crisply as he slid it toward the paymaster. “There are cells down in the bowels of Casterly Rock where my lord father kept the worst of ours.” He dipped his quill in the inkpot. Tyrion of House Lannister, he scratched out, promising to pay the bearer of the note one hundred golden dragons. Every stroke of the quill leaves me a little poorer … or would, if I were not a beggar to begin with. One day he might rue these signatures. But not this day. He blew on the wet ink, slid the parchment to the paymaster, and signed the one beneath. And again. And again. And again. “This wounds me deeply, I will have you know,” he told them between signatures. “In Westeros, the word of a Lannister is considered good as gold.”

墨水瓶耸了耸肩。“这不是维斯特洛。在狭海的另一侧，我们在纸上承诺。”每一张纸递予他，他都用细沙在签名上磨一磨吸收掉多余的墨水，然后抖掉它们，将纸放到一边。“风中签署的债务容易被……遗忘，我们可以这样说么？”

Inkpots shrugged. “This is not Westeros. On this side of the narrow sea, we put our promises on paper.” As each sheet was passed to him, he scattered fine sand across the signature to drink up excess ink, shook it off, and set the note aside. “Debts written on the wind tend to be … forgotten, shall we say?”

“我们不会。”提利昂再签了另一张，再一张。现在他发现掌握了一种节奏。“兰尼斯特有债必还。”

“Not by us.” Tyrion signed another sheet. And another. He had found a rhythm now. “A Lannister always pays his debts.”

普拉姆轻笑。“是啊，但是一个雇佣剑士的话就是放屁。”

Plumm chuckled. “Aye, but a sellsword’s word is worthless.”

恩，你的话，没错，提利昂想，老天开眼。“没错，但是在我签署你的名册前我还不是个雇佣剑士吧。”

Well, yours is, thought Tyrion, and thank the gods for that. “True, but I will not be a sellsword until I’ve signed your book.”

“很快就是了，”布朗·本说。“在那些票据签署之后。”

“Soon enough,” said Brown Ben. “After the notes.”

“我正尽我所能飞快在纸上舞蹈呢。”他想笑，但是这就糟蹋了游戏了。普拉姆正享受着这一切，提利昂也没兴趣打碎他的乐趣。就让他一直以为已经折服了我操了我吧，我会继续用羊皮纸龙埋藏钢剑的。若他回去维斯特洛伊生命他与生俱来的权利的话，他会得到凯岩城所有的黄金来兑现承诺。若不去，他就去死好了，这样他新晋的兄弟们就可以用羊皮纸来擦屁股了。也许有的傻瓜会拿着废物跑到君临试图向他亲爱的姐姐说明这些可以好好利用。若那样我会精力旺盛的跑回去见证那些。

“I am dancing as fast as I can.” He wanted to laugh, but that would have ruined the game. Plumm was enjoying this, and Tyrion had no intention of spoiling his fun. Let him go on thinking that he’s bent me over and fucked me up the arse, and I’ll go on buying steel swords with parchment dragons. If ever he went back to Westeros to claim his birthright, he would have all the gold of Casterly Rock to make good on his promises. If not, well, he’d be dead, and his new brothers could wipe their arses with these parchments. Perhaps some might turn up in King’s Landing with their scraps in hand, hoping to convince his sweet sister to make good on them. And would that I could be a roach in the rushes to witness that.

在签到一半时羊皮纸上的内容开始变化。那些一百金龙的条约是给士官们的，下面的那些数目突然变大了。现在提利昂得承诺受益人1000金龙的奖赏。他大笑着摇了摇头继续一张一张的签。“所以，”他一边龙飞凤舞一边说，“我在军团的职责是什么呢？”

The writing on the parchments changed about halfway down the pile. The hundred-dragon notes were all for serjeants. Below them the amounts suddenly grew larger. Now Tyrion was promising to pay the bearer one thousand golden dragons. He shook his head, laughed, signed. And again. And again. “So,” he said as he was scrawling, “what will be my duties with the company?”

“你作为波科克的娈童太丑了，”卡斯伯利欧说，“但是你作个箭靶倒是不错。”

“You are too ugly to be Bokkoko’s butt boy,” said Kasporio, “but you might do as arrow fodder.”

“比你所知的好得多呢，”提利昂说，拒绝上钩。“一个小个子躲在一个大盾牌后面会让任何一个弓箭手疯掉的。一个比你聪慧的多的人曾这样对我说。”

“Better than you know,” said Tyrion, refusing to rise to the bait. “A small man with a big shield will drive the archers mad. A wiser man than you once told me that.”

“你会和墨水瓶共事，”布朗·本·普拉姆说。

“You will work with Inkpots,” said Brown Ben Plumm.

“你会为墨水瓶工作，”墨水瓶说。“管理名册，数钱，写写契约和信。”

“You will work for Inkpots,” said Inkpots. “Keeping books, counting coin, writing contracts and letters.”

“乐意之极，”提利昂说。“我爱纸头工作。”

“Gladly,” said Tyrion. “I love books.”

“你还能做些啥？”卡斯伯利欧讥讽。“看看你，显然你不能打打杀杀。”

“What else would you do?” sneered Kasporio. “Look at you. You are not fit to fight.”

“曾几何时我还管过凯岩城所有的下水道呢，”提利昂委婉的说。“有些废弃多年的我很快就让它们开心的排水了。”他又把笔蘸了蘸墨水，还有一打，然后他就完事了。“也许我可以监管营妓。我们可不能阻止男人寻欢，现在我们可以了么？”

“I once had charge of all the drains in Casterly Rock,” Tyrion said mildly. “Some of them had been stopped up for years, but I soon had them draining merrily away.” He dipped the quill in the ink again. Another dozen notes, and he would be done. “Perhaps I could supervise your camp followers. We can’t have the men stopped up, now can we?”

这个笑话没有取悦布朗·本。“离娼妓们远点，”他警告。“他们中的大部分都无足轻重但是他们会闲言碎语。你不是第一个偷跑到我们这的奴隶，但是那不意味着我们会到处宣扬你的存在。我可不会把你放到可能被看见的地方展示。尽量呆在帐篷里，要拉屎去马桶解决。公厕太多眼线了，而且，没有我的允许决不准离开营地。我们可以把你塞进什么侍从的盔甲，假装你是乔拉的娈童，但是很多人一眼就会看穿。一旦拿下弥林，向维斯特洛前进，你愿意穿着金红怎么蹦跶都随你。但是在那之前，你……”

That jape did not please Brown Ben. “Stay away from the whores,” he warned. “Most o’ them are poxy, and they talk. You’re not the first escaped slave to join the company, but that don’t mean we need to shout your presence. I won’t have you parading about where you might be seen. Stay inside as much as you can, and shit into your bucket. Too many eyes at the latrines. And never go beyond our camp without my leave. We can dress you up in squire’s steel, pretend you’re Jorah’s butt boy, but there’s some will see right through that. Once Meereen is taken and we’re away to Westeros, you can prance about all you like in gold and crimson. Till then, though …”

“我会住在石头底下绝不发声。你得到了我的承诺。”兰尼斯特家族的提利昂，他又签了一遍，用了点花体。那是最后一张羊皮纸了。还剩下三张票据，与其他的不一样。其中的两张写在上好的牛皮纸上列出了受益人名字。给狡猾的卡斯伯利欧一万金龙，对墨水瓶也一样，他的真名原来叫提拜罗·伊斯塔里昂。“提拜罗？”提利昂说。“听起来几乎是个兰尼斯特。你难道是哪位失踪已久的老表？”

“… I shall live beneath a rock and never make a sound. You have my word on that.” Tyrion of House Lannister, he signed once more, with a flourish. That was the last parchment. Three notes remained, different from the rest. Two were written on fine vellum and made out by name. For Kasporio the Cunning, ten thousand dragons. The same for Inkpots, whose true name appeared to be Tybero Istarion. “Tybero?” said Tyrion. “That sounds almost Lannister. Are you some long-lost cousin?”

“也许吧。我也从不欠债，这是对一个会计的基本要求。签字吧。”

“Perhaps. I always pay my debts as well. It is expected of a paymaster. Sign.”

他下笔了。

He signed.

布朗·本的票据在最后，那个接在一个带毛的羊皮卷轴上。十万金龙，50张来自富饶岛屿的兽皮，一座城堡和一个爵位。很好很好。这个普拉姆看起来不便宜。提利昂弹了弹他的伤疤想自己是不是该表现出点愤恨。你操一个男人的屁眼时你走希望他叫一两声。他可以指天骂地大叫打劫，拒绝签署抵抗一阵子，再在顽抗中不清不愿的签署。但是他懒得演戏，于是相反他拧着脸，叹了口气把卷轴递给布朗·本。“你的老二就像故事里说的那么大，”他说。“我被你狠狠的操了一通，普拉姆大人。”

Brown Ben’s note was the last. That one had been inscribed upon a sheepskin scroll. One hundred thousand golden dragons, fifty hides of fertile land, a castle, and a lordship. Well and well. This Plumm does not come cheaply. Tyrion plucked at his scar and wondered if he ought to make a show of indignation. When you bugger a man you expect a squeal or two. He could curse and swear and rant of robbery, refuse to sign for a time, then give in reluctantly, protesting all the while. But he was sick of mummery, so instead he grimaced, signed, and handed the scroll back to Brown Ben. “Your cock is as big as in the stories,” he said. “Consider me well and truly fucked, Lord Plumm.”

布朗·本吹了吹他的签名。“我的荣幸，小恶魔。现在，你是我们中的一员了。墨水瓶，拿来名册。”

Brown Ben blew on his signature. “My pleasure, Imp. And now, we make you one o’ us. Inkpots, fetch the book.”

名册由皮带和铁链绑着，大到足以让人eat your supper off。在里面厚重木板上有着可以追溯到一世纪前的名字和日期。“‘次子团’是最古老的自由军团，”墨水瓶一边翻页一边说。“这是第四本名册了。没一个服役于军团的人的名字都写在这里。当他们加入的时候，他们在哪里战斗，服役了多久，死亡的方式——全都记载在里面。你会在里面看见许多著名的名字，有些来自七大王国。伊戈尔·河文在去建立黄金团之前曾在这里服役一年，苦钢，你们这样叫他。光明王子伊耿·坦格利安，他也是我们的一员。还有罗德里克·史塔克，游狼，他也是。不，不是那罐墨水，用这个。”他拔掉一个新罐子的塞子放下它。

The book was leather-bound with iron hinges, and large enough to eat your supper off. Inside its heavy wooden boards were names and dates going back more than a century. “The Second Sons are amongst the oldest of the free companies,” Inkpots said as he was turning pages. “This is the fourth book. The names of every man to serve with us are written here. When they joined, where they fought, how long they served, the manner of their deaths—all in the book. You will find famous names in here, some from your Seven Kingdoms. Aegor Rivers served a year with us, before he left to found the Golden Company. Bittersteel, you call him. The Bright Prince, Aerion Targaryen, he was a Second Son. And Rodrik Stark, the Wandering Wolf, him as well. No, not that ink. Here, use this.” He unstoppered a new pot and set it down.

提利昂竖起脑袋。“红墨水？”

Tyrion cocked his head. “Red ink?”

“军团的传统，”墨水瓶解释。“曾经每个新人都得用血书写，但是事实上，血书没有任何价值。”

“A tradition of the company,” Inkpots explained. “There was a time when each new man wrote his name in his own blood, but as it happens, blood makes piss-poor ink.”

“兰尼斯特喜欢传统。把刀给我。”

“Lannisters love tradition. Lend me your knife.”

墨水瓶抬起眉毛，耸了耸肩，从鞘里抽出匕首老远的递过去。依旧会痛，“半学士”，真该好好谢谢你，提利昂在他用刀花开拇指头时想。他将一大滴血滴入墨水瓶，用匕首换来羽毛笔然后潦草的签了名，兰尼斯特家的提利昂，凯岩王。

Inkpots raised an eyebrow, shrugged, slipped his dagger from its sheath, and handed it across hiltfirst. It still hurts, Halfmaester, thank you very much, thought Tyrion, as he pricked the ball of his thumb. He squeezed a fat drop of blood into the inkpot, traded the dagger for a fresh quill, and scrawled, Tyrion of House Lannister, Lord of Casterly Rock, in a big bold hand, just below Jorah Mormont’s far more modest signature.

板上钉钉，用黑体写的名字，就在乔拉·莫尔蒙公正的的签名下面。

And it’s done. The dwarf rocked back on the camp stool. “Is that all that you require of me? Don’t I need to swear an oath? Kill a baby? Suck the captain’s cock?”

好了，完事了。侏儒晃回了营地的木凳上。“你就像从我这里得到这么点？我难道不需要发个誓什么的？杀个小孩？尝尝老大的老二？”

“Suck whatever you like.” Inkpots turned the book around and dusted the page with a bit of fine sand. “For most of us, the signature suffices, but I would hate to disappoint a new brother-in-arms. Welcome to the Second Sons, Lord Tyrion.”

“你爱尝什么尝什么去。”墨水瓶转过名册，用点细沙拂过。“对我们大多数人爱说，签名就行，但是我可不想让我的新兄弟失望。欢迎来到次子团，提利昂大人。”

Lord Tyrion. The dwarf liked the sound of that. The Second Sons might not enjoy the shining reputation of the Golden Company, but they had won some famous victories over the centuries. “Have other lords served with the company?”

提利昂大人。侏儒喜欢这个称呼。次子团可能不像黄金团那顶顶大名，但是他们几个世纪以来还是赢得了不少胜利的。“你们还有别的大人在服役么？”

“Landless lords,” said Brown Ben. “Like you, Imp.”

“失去了土地的大人们，”布朗·本说。“就像你，小恶魔。”

Tyrion hopped down from the stool. “My previous brother was entirely unsatisfactory. I hope for more from my new ones. Now how do I go about securing arms and armor?”

提利昂跳下凳子。“我的前任兄弟一点儿不能令人满意。我希望我的新兄弟不会让我失望。现在我该怎么获得武器和盔甲？”

“Will you want a pig to ride as well?” asked Kasporio.

“你是不是还要只猪来骑骑？”卡斯伯利欧问。“为什么，我确实认识你的老婆，”提利昂说。“你把他让给我真是太慷慨了，但是我还是想要匹马。”

“Why, I did not know your wife was in the company,” said Tyrion. “That’s kind of you to offer her, but I would prefer a horse.”

刺客的脸涨得通红，但是墨水瓶大笑而布朗·本边走远边笑。“墨水瓶，带他去看货车。他可以自己挑选武器。那个女孩也是，给她一个头盔，一套盔甲，那样别人会把她当成个男孩。”

The bravo reddened, but Inkpots laughed aloud and Brown Ben went so far as to chuckle. “Inkpots, show him to the wagons. He can have his pick from the company steel. The girl too. Put a helm on her, a bit o’ mail, might be some will take her for a boy.”

“提利昂大人，跟我来。”墨水瓶拉开帷帐好让他摇摆的穿过去。“我会让斯奈奇带你去货车那里，拉上你女人去厨帐那里等他。”

“Lord Tyrion, with me.” Inkpots held the tent flap to let him waddle through. “I will have Snatch take you to the wagons. Get your woman and meet him by the cook tent.”

“她不是我女人。也许你该带着她。每晚她只会睡觉然后瞪着我。”

“She is not my woman. Perhaps you should get her. All she does of late is sleep and glare at me.”

“你得更狠的打她更多的操她。”会计热心建议。“带着她或者离开她，随你便，斯奈奇不关心。你弄到自己的盔甲后来找我，我来带你做账。”

“You need to beat her harder and fuck her more often,” the paymaster offered helpfully. “Bring her, leave her, do what you will. Snatch will not care. Come find me when you have your armor, and I will start you on the ledgers.”

“如您所愿。”

“As you wish.”

利昂在他们的帐篷角落里找到了睡着的佩妮，蜷缩在一张薄薄的稻草床上，盖着污秽的被子。当他用脚尖踢了踢她时，他翻过身对他眨了眨眼，打着哈欠说。“雨果？怎么了？”

Tyrion found Penny asleep in a corner of their tent, curled up on a thin straw pallet beneath a heap of soiled bedclothes. When he touched her with the toe of his boot, she rolled over, blinked at him, and yawned. “Hugor? What is it?”

“我们有开始说话了吗？”这比她平时的闷闷不乐好多了——全是因为抛弃了那头猪和那条狗。我可是把我们两个人从奴役中解救出来了啊，你说些什么感激的话才对嘛。“如果你继续睡下去就要错过战争了。”

“Talking again, are we?” It was better than her usual sullen silence. All over an abandoned dog and pig. I saved the two of us from slavery, you would think some gratitude might be in order. “If you sleep any longer, you’re like to miss the war.”

“我很伤心。”她又打了个哈欠。“而且很累，累得很。”

“I’m sad.” She yawned again. “And tired. So tired.”

累了还是病了？提利昂跪在他她的破床旁。“你看上去苍白的很。”他感到她皱了皱眉。那是不是很烫，或者是不是他有点发烧？他不敢出声问。就算是次子团的勇猛战士也怕骑上一头苍白的母马。若他们发现佩妮病了，会毫不犹豫的把她赶出去。他们甚至会把我们送回耶赞的儿子那里，无论签没签约。“我已经签了他们的名册了，用古老的方式，血。我现在是他们的一员了。”

Tired or sick? Tyrion knelt beside her pallet. “You look pale.” He felt her brow. Is it hot in here, or does she have a touch of fever? He dared not ask that question aloud. Even hard men like the Second Sons were terrified of mounting the pale mare. If they thought Penny was sick, they would drive her off without a moment’s hesitation. They might even return us to Yezzan’s heirs, notes or no notes. “I have signed their book. The old way, in blood. I am now a Second Son.”

佩妮坐起身，揉着眼睛驱走睡意。“那我呢？我能签么？”

Penny sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “What about me? Can I sign too?”

“我想不行，有些自由军团据我所知会吸纳女人，但是……毕竟他们不是什么次女团。”

“I think not. Some free companies have been known to take women, but … well, they are not Second Daughters, after all.”

“我们，”她说。“若你成为他们的一员，你会说‘我们’而不是‘他们’。有任何人看到漂亮猪了么？墨水瓶说他会向他们所要她的。或者咬咬狗，有他的消息么？”

“We,” she said. “If you’re one of them, you should say we, not they. Has anyone seen Pretty Pig? Inkpots said he’d ask after her. Or Crunch, has there been word of Crunch?”

除非你相信卡斯伯利欧。普拉姆的不那么聪明的二把手声称有三个渊凯奴隶猎手在营地间逡巡寻找一对逃跑的侏儒。其中的一个带着一把顶端插有狗头的长矛，卡斯伯是这么说的。这种消息可不会让佩妮好到下床。“没什么消息，”他说了个谎。“来，我们得给你找件盔甲。”

Only if you trust Kasporio. Plumm’s not-so-cunning second-in-command claimed that three Yunkish slave-catchers were prowling through the camps, asking after a pair of escaped dwarfs. One of them was carrying a tall spear with a dog’s head impaled upon its point, the way that Kaspo told it. Such tidings were not like to get Penny out of bed, however. “No word as yet,” he lied. “Come. We need to find some armor for you.”

她给了他一个警惕的眼神。“盔甲？做什么？”

She gave him a wary look. “Armor? Why?”

“我以前的长官告诉我。‘千万别裸身上战场，男孩。’他说，我一直铭记在心。另外，我现在是个雇佣剑士，我真得有剑去卖啊。”她依旧没有任何要动身的迹象。提利昂抓住她的手腕把她拉起来，将一团衣服丢到她脸上。“穿好衣服。把兜帽斗篷套上然后低下头。我们要装作是一对小男孩，以防努力猎手看见。”

“Something my old master-at-arms told me. ‘Never go to battle naked, lad,’ he said. I take him at his word. Besides, now that I’m a sellsword, I really ought to have a sword to sell.” She still showed no signs of moving. Tyrion seized her by the wrist, pulled her to her feet, and threw a fistful of clothing into her face. “Dress. Wear the cloak with the hood and keep your head down. We’re supposed to be a pair of likely lads, just in case the slave-catchers are watching.”

当他们厨帐外披着斗篷带着兜帽出现时，斯奈奇正在嚼着酸叶等着他们。“我听说你们两个也准备为我们作战，”高级律师说。“那估计会让弥林人吓得尿裤子了。你们中哪个杀过人？”

Snatch was waiting by the cook tent chewing sourleaf when the two dwarfs turned up, cloaked and hooded. “I hear the two o’ you are going to fight for us,” the serjeant said. “That should have them pissing in Meereen. Either o’ you ever killed a man?”

“我，”提利昂说。“我杀他们就像拍苍蝇。”

“I have,” said Tyrion. “I swat them down like flies.”

“用什么？”

“What with?”

“一把斧头，一把匕首，一句精选的评论。但是我的杀手锏是十字弓。”

“An axe, a dagger, a choice remark. Though I’m deadliest with my crossbow.”

斯奈奇用他的钩子手抓了抓胡茬。“卑鄙的东西，一把十字弓。你用那玩意儿杀了几个人？”

Snatch scratched at his stubble with the point of his hook. “Nasty thing, a crossbow. How many men you kill with that?”

“九个。”显然他那老爹至少值那么多。凯岩城的领主，西边境之王，兰尼斯特港的守护者，国王之手，丈夫，兄弟，父亲，父亲，父亲。

“Nine.” His father counted for at least that many, surely. Lord of Casterly Rock, Warden of the West, Shield of Lannisport, Hand of the King, husband, brother, father, father, father.

“九个。”斯奈奇嗤之以鼻，吐了口红痰。他本来应该是瞄准提利昂的脚的但是它最后落到了膝盖上。显然这就是他对“九个”的看法。高级律师的手指被他刚刚咀嚼的酸叶汁弄的星星点点。他含了两根手指吹了个口哨。“凯姆！过来这里，你这个小尿壶。”凯姆急匆匆的跑来了。“把小恶魔大人和夫人带到货车那去，让海姆尔用军团的兵器把他们武装起来。”

“Nine.” Snatch snorted and spat out a mouthful of red slime. Aiming for Tyrion’s feet, perhaps, but it landed on his knee. Plainly that was what he thought of “nine.” The serjeant’s fingers were stained a mottled red from the juice of the sourleaf he chewed. He put two of them into his mouth and whistled. “Kem! Get over here, you fucking pisspot.” Kem came running. “Take Lord and Lady Imp to the wagons, have Hammer fix them up with some company steel.”

“海姆尔只怕喝得烂醉，”凯姆警告。

“Hammer might be passed-out drunk,” Kem cautioned.

“对着他的脸撒泡尿，那样就能弄醒他。”斯奈奇转身面对提利昂和佩妮。“我们这可没来过该死的侏儒，但是从不缺少男孩。不是这个婊子的崽子就是那个的，离家出走来探险的小白痴，侍从还有其他的。也许他们留下的垃圾够小，正适合你们。

“Piss in his face. That’ll wake him up.” Snatch turned back to Tyrion and Penny. “We never had no bloody dwarfs before, but boys we never lacked for. Sons o’ this whore or that one, little fools run off from home to have adventures, butt boys, squires, and the like. Some o’ their shit might be small enough to fit imps. It’s the shit they were wearing when they died, like as not, but I know that won’t bother fuckers fierce as you two. Nine, was it?” He shook his head and walked away.

那些垃圾都是从他们次子团把他们的盔甲存在停在营地中心的六个巨大货车里。凯姆带路，晃着他的长矛好像那是根手杖一样。“一个君临的小伙子怎么流落到自由兵团里来了？”提利昂问。

The Second Sons kept their company armor in six big wayns drawn up near the center of their camp. Kem led the way, swinging his spear as if it were a staff. “How does a King’s Landing lad end up with a free company?” Tyrion asked him.

男孩小心的看了他一眼。“谁告诉你我是君临来的？”

The lad gave him a wary squint. “Who told you I was from King’s Landing?”

“没人。”你说的每句话都散发着Flea Bottom的恶臭。“你的智慧出卖了你。据说没有什么人比得上君临人的智慧。”

“No one.” Every word out of your mouth reeks of Flea Bottom. “Your wits gave you away. There’s no one clever as a Kingslander, they say.”

那似乎让他吃了一惊。“谁说的？”

That seemed to startle him. “Who says that?”

“每个人。”我。

“Everyone.” Me.

“什么时候？”

“Since when?”

刚刚。“多年来，”他胡说道。“我父亲经常这样说。你听说过泰温大人把，凯姆？”

Since I just made it up. “For ages,” he lied. “My father was wont to say it. Did you know Lord Tywin, Kem?”

“国王之手。由此我看到他骑马上山。他的手下穿着红色斗篷戴着狮子徽章的头盔，我喜欢那些头盔。”他闭上了嘴。“但我不喜欢国王之手，他洗劫了城市然后在黑水河上击溃了我们。”

“The Hand. Once I saw him riding up the hill. His men had red cloaks and little lions on their helms. I liked those helms.” His mouth tightened. “I never liked the Hand, though. He sacked the city. And then he smashed us on the Blackwater.”

“你当时在那儿？”

“You were there?”

“和史坦尼斯。泰温大人连同蓝礼的鬼魂一起出现在我们的侧翼。我丢下长矛逃跑了，但是到了船上着该死的骑士说，‘你的长矛你，男孩？我们没有空位给胆小鬼，’然后他们就溜走了，剩下我还有其他数千人。接着我听说了你父亲是如何处置他们的让他们去打长城的史坦尼斯。所以我逃过狭海加入了次子团。”

“With Stannis. Lord Tywin come up with Renly’s ghost and took us in the flank. I dropped my spear and ran, but at the ships this bloody knight said, ‘Where’s your spear, boy? We got no room for cravens,’ and they buggered off and left me, and thousands more besides. Later I heard how your father was sending them as fought with Stannis to the Wall, so I made my way across the narrow sea and joined up with the Second Sons.”

“你想念君临么？”

“Do you miss King’s Landing?”

“有点，我想念一个男孩，他……他是我一个朋友的孩子。还有我的兄弟，肯尼特，但是他在舰桥上战死了。”

“Some. I miss this boy, he … he was a friend of mine. And my brother, Kennet, but he died on the bridge of ships.”

“那天死了太多好人。”提利昂的疤痒的厉害，于是他用指甲挖了挖。

“Too many good men died that day.” Tyrion’s scar was itching fiercely. He picked at it with a fingernail.

“我也怀念那些食物，”凯姆惆怅的说。

“I miss the food too,” Kem said wistfully.

“你的妈妈妈的杰作？”

“Your mother’s cooking?”

“老鼠也不会吃我妈做的菜。那的确有这样一个汤店，从没有人做出他们那种褐汤。如此粘稠你都可以将勺子竖直地插在里面，里面有好多东西。你喝过这样的褐汤么，半人？”

“Rats wouldn’t eat my mother’s cooking. There was this pot shop, though. No one ever made a bowl o’ brown like them. So thick you could stand your spoon up in the bowl, with chunks of this and that. You ever have yourself a bowl o’ brown, Halfman?”

“一两次吧。歌手的佳肴，我这样叫它。”

“A time or two. Singer’s stew, I call it.”

“干嘛那样叫？”

“Why’s that?”

“味道好到我想唱歌。”

“It tastes so good it makes me want to sing.”

凯姆很喜欢那个。“歌手的佳肴。若我回到Flea Bottom我会这样称呼它来它一碗。你怀念什么呢，半人？”

Kem liked that. “Singer’s stew. I’ll ask for that next time I get back to Flea Bottom. What do you miss, Halfman?”

詹姆，提利昂想。雪伊。泰莎，我的妻子，我想念我的妻子虽然我几乎不认识她。“红酒，妓女和财富，”他回答。“特别是财富，有钱才能买到红酒和妓女。”还有剑以及举剑的许许多多凯姆。

Jaime, thought Tyrion. Shae. Tysha. My wife, I miss my wife, the wife I hardly knew. “Wine, whores, and wealth,” he answered. “Especially the wealth. Wealth will buy you wine and whores.” It will also buy you swords, and the Kems to wield them.

“关于凯岩城的便壶都是金子做的的传说是真的么？”凯姆问。

“Is it true the chamber pots in Casterly Rock are made of solid gold?” Kem asked him.

“你不该相信任何你听说的东西，特别是关于兰尼斯特家族的。”

“You should not believe everything you hear. Especially where House Lannister is concerned.”

“他们都说兰尼斯特们是狡猾的毒蛇。”

“They say all Lannisters are twisty snakes.”

“毒蛇？”提利昂笑道。“那你听说的是我的父亲大人，在他的墓穴里滑行呢。我们是狮子，或者说我们喜欢这么说。但是这不打紧，凯姆。无论你踩上毒蛇还是狮子的尾巴，你就死定了。”

“Snakes?” Tyrion laughed. “That sound you hear is my lord father, slithering in his grave. We are lions, or so we like to say. But it makes no matter, Kem. Step on a snake or a lion’s tail, you’ll end up just as dead.”

正说着他们就来到了军械库。铁匠，传说中的海姆尔和床文中一样是个看起来畸形的巨人。他的左臂有右臂两倍宽厚。“看显然喝的烂醉，”凯姆说。“布朗·本对此熟视无睹但是有一天我们会给自己找到个真正的武器师傅。”海姆尔的学徒是个叫内尔的精瘦红发小伙。当然，还能有谁呢？提利昂暗忖。当他们来到锻造间时还摩尔就像海姆预测的那样正呼呼大睡以醒酒，但是内尔对两个侏儒吃力的爬上货车显然没有异议。“大多数都是些破铜烂铁，”他警告他们，“但是任君挑选。”

By then they had reached the armory, such as it was. The smith, this fabled Hammer, proved to be a freakish-looking hulk with a left arm that appeared twice as thick as his right. “He’s drunk more than not,” Kem said. “Brown Ben lets it go, but one day we’ll get us a real armorer.” Hammer’s apprentice was a wiry red-haired youth called Nail. Of course. What else? mused Tyrion. Hammer was sleeping off a drunk when they reached the forge, just as Kem had prophesied, but Nail had no objection to the two dwarfs clambering through the wagons. “Crap iron, most of it,” he warned them, “but you’re welcome to anything you can use.”

在朽木和硬皮构成的屋顶下，货车底部有堆积如山的旧兵器和盔甲。提利昂拿起一个看看然后叹了口气，忆起凯岩城地下兰尼斯特家族的武器库里那一排排铮亮的刀枪剑棍。“这恐怕有得挑了，”他表示。

Under roofs of bent wood and stiffened leather, the wagon beds were heaped high with old weaponry and armor. Tyrion took one look and sighed, remembering the gleaming racks of swords and spears and halberds in the armory of the Lannisters below Casterly Rock. “This may take a while,” he declared.

“这还是有点儿完好的兵器的，如果你有幸找到的话，”一个低沉的嗓音如是说。“没什么精致的，但是至少能当下剑攻。”

“There’s sound steel here if you can find it,” a deep voice growled. “None of it is pretty, but it will stop a sword.”

一个大个子的其实从货车后面走下来，从头到脚包裹着军团的铁甲。他的左护腿与右边的不称，护喉则锈迹斑斑，而臂甲则华美精致，上面镶有乌银花纹。他的右手上套着龙虾钢的护手，左边则是露指的锈铠。而强健的胸甲的乳头上穿了一对铁环。他的全盔则有一系列凹痕，有一个甚至被打穿了。

A big knight stepped down from the back of a wagon, clad head to heel in company steel. His left greave did not match his right, his gorget was spotted with rust, his vambraces rich and ornate, inlaid with niello flowers. On his right hand was a gauntlet of lobstered steel, on his left a fingerless mitt of rusted mail. The nipples on his muscled breastplate had a pair of iron rings through them. His greathelm sported a ram’s horns, one of which was broken.

当他摘下它，显示出乔拉·莫尔蒙伤痕累累的脸。

When he took it off, he revealed the battered face of Jorah Mormont.

提利昂发现他看起来完全没有那个从耶赞的笼子里拖出来的半残的家伙的样子，彻彻底底的是个雇佣剑士的样了。他的淤青大部分已经好了，脸也不那么肿了，所以莫尔蒙看起来又有个人样了……但只是大致看起来像他。他下半辈子只能与右颊上奴隶主烙上的显示他是个危险而反抗的奴隶的魔鬼标志相伴了。乔拉爵士从没可能被称为一个英俊的男人，而那个烙印则让他看起来很吓人。

He looks every inch a sellsword and not at all like the half-broken thing we took from Yezzan’s cage, Tyrion reflected. His bruises had mostly faded by now, and the swelling in his face had largely subsided, so Mormont looked almost human once again … though only vaguely like himself. The demon’s mask the slavers had burned into his right cheek to mark him for a dangerous and disobedient slave would never leave him. Ser Jorah had never been what one might call a comely man. The brand had transformed his face into something frightening.

提利昂咧嘴笑起来。“是要我比你看起来好看点儿，我就很开心了。”他转向佩妮。“你去那个货车找找，我留下看看这个。”

Tyrion grinned. “As long as I look prettier than you, I will be happy.” He turned to Penny. “You take that wagon. I’ll start with this one.”

“若我们一起找的话能快点而。”她拔起一个生锈的半盔傻笑道，将它戴到头顶问。“我看起来是不是很可怕？”

“It will go faster if we look together.” She plucked up a rusted iron halfhelm, giggled, and stuck it on her head. “Do I look fearsome?”

你看起来像个套了一个壶的小丑。“那是个半盔，你得弄个全盔。”他找到一个然后换下佩妮的半盔。

You look like a mummer girl with a pot on her head. “That’s a halfhelm. You want a greathelm.” He found one, and swapped it for the halfhelm.

“它太大了。”佩妮的声音在铁中交鸣。“我看不到外面了。”她取下头盔扔到一边。“半盔怎么不好了？”

“It’s too big.” Penny’s voice echoed hollowly inside the steel. “I can’t see out.” She took the helm off and flung it aside. “What’s wrong with the halfhelm?”

“半盔露脸。”提利昂捏了捏她的鼻子。“我喜欢你的鼻子，当然是它留在你脸上的时候。”

“It’s open-faced.” Tyrion pinched her nose. “I am fond of looking at your nose. I would rather that you kept it.”

她的眼睛睁大了。“你喜欢我的鼻子？”

Her eyes got big. “You like my nose?”

哦，七神救我。提利昂转身开始在货车后部翻找破盔烂甲。

Oh, Seven save me. Tyrion turned away and began rooting amongst some piles of old armor toward the back of the wagon.

“我还有哪部分你喜欢的？”佩妮问。

“Are there any other parts of me you like?” Penny asked.

也许她希望听起来戏谑些，但是听起来只有悲伤。“我喜欢你的各个部分，”提利昂说，希望结束进一步讨论这个话题，“当然我更喜欢自己的。”

Perhaps she meant that to sound playful. It sounded sad instead. “I am fond of all of your parts,” Tyrion said, in hopes of ending any further discussion of the subject, “and even fonder of mine own.”

“我们干嘛要带盔甲？我们只是伶人。我们只是假装要战斗。”

“Why should we need armor? We’re only mummers. We just pretend to fight.”

“你装的真好，”提利昂说，检查一个看起来像被虫蛀了一样全是窟窿的重甲上衣。哪种蛀虫吃锁子甲？“在战斗中装死尸是一种活下来的方法，好的盔甲是另一种。”但是对于那点还是有点夸大其词的。在绿叉河，他战斗时穿的是一身从莱佛德大人的货车里找到的不合身的破铠甲和一个锥顶的看起来像有人扣了个马桶在他头上的水桶盔。这些军团的盔甲就更糟了，不光旧而不合身，而且濒临报废，满是裂缝，一打就烂。那是干涸的血或只是铁锈？他闻了闻，依旧无法分辨。

“You pretend very well,” said Tyrion, examining a shirt of heavy iron mail so full of holes that it almost looked moth-eaten. What sort of moths eat chainmail? “Pretending to be dead is one way to survive a battle. Good armor is another.” Though there is precious little of that here, I fear. At the Green Fork, he had fought in mismatched scraps of plate from Lord Lefford’s wagons, with a spiked bucket helm that made it look as if someone had upended a slops pail over his head. This company steel was worse. Not just old and ill fitting, but dinted, cracked, and brittle. Is that dried blood, or only rust? He sniffed at it but still could not be sure.

“这里有个十字弓。”佩妮向他展示。

“Here’s a crossbow.” Penny showed it to him.

提利昂看了一眼。“我采不上镫型绞车，我的腿不够长。对我来说一个曲柄倒是不错。”但是若真说起来，他不想要个十字弓，得花太长时间重装箭，就算他能潜伏在公厕旁边等着某位敌人跑来蹲坑，他失败的几率大于发生争执可不是什么好兆头。

Tyrion glanced at it. “I cannot use a stirrup winch. My legs are not long enough. A crank would serve me better.” Though, if truth be told, he did not want a crossbow. They took too long to reload. Even if he lurked by the latrine ditch waiting for some enemy to take a squat, the chances of his loosing more than one quarrel would not be good.

于是相反他捡起一把晨星，晃了晃它然后又丢下了它。太重了。他走过一把战锤（太长），一根狼牙棒（依旧太重），在他终于找到一个称手的匕首签他还挑过半打的长剑，那把匕首是个恶心的三棱刃的小型铁器。“这个还差不多，”他说。刀刃有点生锈但是这不影响它让它边的更恶劣。他又找到了一个皮木做的合适刀鞘然后将匕首插了进去。

Instead he picked up a morningstar, gave it a swing, put it down again. Too heavy. He passed over a warhammer (too long), a studded mace (also too heavy), and half a dozen longswords before he found a dirk he liked, a nasty piece of steel with a triangular blade. “This might serve,” he said. The blade had a bit of rust on it, but that would only make it nastier. He found a wood-and-leather sheath that fit and slipped the dirk inside.

“一把合适小个子的小剑？”佩妮开玩笑。

“A little sword for a little man?” joked Penny.

“它是把合适巨人的匕首。”提利昂给了她一把长剑。“这才是剑，拿着它。”

“It’s a dirk and made for a big man.” Tyrion showed her an old longsword. “This is a sword. Try it.”

佩妮拿起它，晃了晃，拧起了眉。“太重了。”

Penny took it, swung it, frowned. “Too heavy.”

“铁比木头中多了。用那玩意儿穿过一个人的喉咙，可不会让脑袋变成一个甜瓜。”他拿回了她手里的剑更仔细的检查了一下。“廉价的铁器，尽是豁口。这儿，看到了没？我收回刚才说的话，我得找个好点儿的利器用来砍头。”

“Steel weighs more than wood. Chop through a man’s neck with that thing, though, and his head is not like to turn into a melon.” He took the sword back from her and inspected it more closely. “Cheap steel. And notched. Here, see? I take back what I said. You need a better blade to hack off heads.”

“我不想去砍头。”

“I don’t want to hack off heads.”

“你是不该，膝盖下的领域才属于你。小腿，旁腱和脚踝……若你砍掉他们的脚连巨人都会倒下。他们倒下之后即使你也不是个小矮子了。”

“Nor should you. Keep your cuts below the knee. Calf, hamstring, ankle … even giants fall if you slice their feet off. Once they’re down, they’re no bigger than you.”

佩妮看起来快哭了。“昨晚我梦到我的兄弟没死，我们在一些大人前逗乐，骑着咬咬狗和美丽猪，大家都向我们抛掷着玫瑰。我们很开心……”

Penny looked as though she was about to cry. “Last night I dreamed my brother was alive again. We were jousting before some great lord, riding Crunch and Pretty Pig, and men were throwing roses at us. We were so happy …”

提利昂扇了她一巴掌。

Tyrion slapped her.

这是轻柔的一击，总的来说只是用手腕轻弹了一下，但是背后潜藏着力量。它甚至没在她脸上留下一点痕迹，但是她依旧让她含满了泪。

It was a soft blow, all in all, a little flick of the wrist, with hardly any force behind it. It did not even leave a mark upon her cheek. But her eyes filled with tears all the same.

“若你想做梦，就回去睡觉，”他告诉她，“你清醒的时候我们就依旧是围城期间的逃跑奴隶。咬咬狗死了，那头猪下场大概也差不多。现在找点盔甲穿上，别管它是不是磨人。哑剧表演结束了，要么战斗要么藏起来要么尿裤子，看你如何选择了，但是无论你怎么选，都得在盔甲里进行。

“If you want to dream, go back to sleep,” he told her. “When you wake up, we’ll still be escaped slaves in the middle of a siege. Crunch is dead. The pig as well, most like. Now find some armor and put it on, and never mind where it pinches. The mummer show is over. Fight or hide or shit yourself, as you like, but whatever you decide to do, you’ll do it clad in steel.”

佩妮摸了摸他掴过的脸。“我们不需要逃跑啊，我们不是雇佣剑士，我们不是任何剑士。和耶赞在一起并不是那么糟的，不是啊。看护的确有时候残酷了点但是耶赞从不是。我们是他最喜欢的，他的……他的……”

Penny touched the cheek he’d slapped. “We should never have run. We’re not sellswords. We’re not any kind of swords. It wasn’t so bad with Yezzan. It wasn’t. Nurse was cruel sometimes but Yezzan never was. We were his favorites, his … his …”

“奴隶。你想说的是奴隶。”

“Slaves. The word you want is slaves.”

“奴隶，”她说，她唰的脸红了。“但我们是他的特别的奴隶，就像糖果，他的宝贝。”

“Slaves,” she said, flushing. “We were his special slaves, though. Just like Sweets. His treasures.”

他的宠物，提利昂想。他是如此的爱我们于是把我们送到兽坑喂狮子。

His pets, thought Tyrion. And he loved us so much that he sent us to the pit, to be devoured by lions.

她在有些事上说的没错。耶赞的奴隶比七大王国的许多农夫都吃的好药而在即将到来的严冬中也不太可能饿死。奴隶是财产，没错。他们会被买卖鞭打和烙印，满足主人的肉欲，生出更多的奴隶。从哪方面将他们与畜生相比好不了多少。但是大多数的大人们对待他们的畜生倒是很好。骄傲的男人可能会叫嚣他们宁愿死也不做奴隶，但是自尊是廉价的玩意儿。当磨刀霍霍时，这样叫嚣的人马上就少到和龙齿一样珍贵了；要不是那样，这个世界也不会到处都是奴隶了。没有什么奴隶的身份不是自己选择的，侏儒想到，即使他们只有奴役和死亡两个选项，也一直有选择的余地。

She was not all wrong. Yezzan’s slaves ate better than many peasants back in the Seven Kingdoms and were less like to starve to death come winter. Slaves were chattels, aye. They could be bought and sold, whipped and branded, used for the carnal pleasure of their owners, bred to make more slaves. In that sense they were no more than dogs or horses. But most lords treated their dogs and horses well enough. Proud men might shout that they would sooner die free than live as slaves, but pride was cheap. When the steel struck the flint, such men were rare as dragon’s teeth; elsewise the world would not have been so full of slaves. There has never been a slave who did not choose to be a slave, the dwarf reflected. Their choice may be between bondage and death, but the choice is always there.

体谅·兰尼斯特对自己没什么期望。他的舌头在开始已经给他的背上带来不少鞭痕，但很快他就学会取悦与看护和耶赞大人。乔拉·莫尔蒙的抗争时间要长和艰苦的多，但是他最后也屈服了。

Tyrion Lannister did not except himself. His tongue had earned him some stripes on the back in the beginning, but soon enough he had learned the tricks of pleasing Nurse and the noble Yezzan. Jorah Mormont had fought longer and harder, but he would have come to the same place in the end.

至于佩妮，好吧……

And Penny, well …

佩妮自从他的兄弟格罗特掉了脑袋后就一直在寻找一个新的主人，她想找个能照顾她的人，一个告诉她该怎么做的人。

Penny had been searching for a new master since the day her brother Groat had lost his head. She wants someone to take care of her, someone to tell her what to do.

虽然这么说很残忍。于是相反，提利昂说。“耶赞的特别的奴隶也逃不过白死病。（继黑死病灰死病后又来了个白死病，在马丁把大家都折磨死前，都扔染缸里走了一回……）他们都死了，全部，糖果是最先走的。”他们逃走的那天他们身形庞大的主人就死了，布朗·本·普拉姆这样告诉他。但他和卡斯伯利欧还有其他的雇佣剑士不知道耶赞其他的怪人团的下场……但若佩妮需要谎言来阻止她做梦，他会毫不犹豫的撒谎。“若你想在成为一个奴隶，我就在这场战争结束后替你找个好心的，当然我会换到足以让我回家的金子，”提利昂保证说。“我会找些其他的不错的渊凯人让他为你打造另一个挂着铃铛的金项圈，这样你走到哪儿就响到哪儿。但首先你得留着条命，没人会去买一个死掉的小丑。”

It would have been too cruel to say so, however. Instead Tyrion said, “Yezzan’s special slaves did not escape the pale mare. They’re dead, the lot of them. Sweets was the first to go.” Their mammoth master had died on the day of their escape, Brown Ben Plumm had told him. Neither he nor Kasporio nor any of the other sellswords knew the fate of the denizens of Yezzan’s grotesquerie … but if Pretty Penny needed lies to stop her mooning, lie to her he would. “If you want to be a slave again, I will find you a kind master when this war is done, and sell you for enough gold to get me home,” Tyrion promised her. “I’ll find you some nice Yunkishman to give you another pretty golden collar, with little bells on it that will tinkle everywhere you go. First, though, you will need to survive what’s coming. No one buys dead mummers.”

“或者死掉的侏儒，”乔拉·莫尔蒙说。“到战争结束我们大概都已经是虫子们的盘中餐了。渊凯人已经输掉了战争但是他们还不知道。弥林有着无垢者军团，全世界最好的军团。另外弥林还有龙，三条，一旦女王归来，她会的，而且必须。我们呢就只有两排渊凯老爷们，各领着一队训练不周的猴子。踩着高跷的奴隶和带着链子的奴隶……他们还有有着瞎子和瘫痪幼童的军队，我可不会指望他们。”

“Or dead dwarfs,” said Jorah Mormont. “We are all like to be feeding worms by the time this battle is done. The Yunkai’i have lost this war, though it may take them some time to know it. Meereen has an army of Unsullied infantry, the finest in the world. And Meereen has dragons. Three of them, once the queen returns. She will. She must. Our side consists of two score Yunkish lordlings, each with his own half-trained monkey men. Slaves on stilts, slaves in chains … they may have troops of blind men and palsied children too, I would not put it past them.”

“哦，我知道，”提利昂说。“次子团是站在失败的一方的，他们得现在就倒戈，虽然这也不是第一次了。”他笑道。“这交给我来办。”

“Oh, I know,” said Tyrion. “The Second Sons are on the losing side. They need to turn their cloaks again and do it now.” He grinned. “Leave that to me.”