【龙枪】少年Gi的奇幻漂流

[茶白猫小修]

发现朱学恒用的译名是奎灵那斯提，我这输入法云出来的是奎灵纳斯提，我也从来没注意……
算了就先这样吧，最后整理PDF和txt以及（自娱自乐版）实体书的时候一起改掉就是了……

[茶白猫小修]

精灵和冒险的那些事儿：治愈之河，27sc
 
我有个计划说给你听，朋友！一条万无一失的，真正的生财之道。我们所要做的只是……瞧瞧那儿？好像有个精灵拿刀对着一个想做某些自然而然的事儿的家伙。要是她不喜欢爷们儿爬到她身上，她绝对应该远离小酒馆——不然她至少该穿得更适宜些！

我有没有告诉过你我有多讨厌精灵？神啊，光是想到那群装作无所不知的尖耳朵和我呼吸着相同的空气，我就怒得热血沸腾。

为啥？因为他们把我的生活变成了人间地狱，就为这个。每次我一想出个似乎能管很长时间的赚钱法子，就会有某些该死的精灵跑来搞砸它！

当我还是个孩子的时候，我搞了个可爱的小计划，跟搭档一块儿推销塔克西丝的愿景。我们把店铺开在老城区（Old District）的一座神殿里，在那儿我们发现了一个窟窿，可以让某些人躲在一个密室里发出“神的声音”。你真的不知道那群黑暗骑士有多醉狂，或是有多愚蠢，只要我让他们的女神“降临”到我身上，他们就会付钱听她讲话。简直好像魅惑术（charm）一样管用……直到出现了某个该死的精灵。你还不知道黑暗骑士里有精灵吧，你知道吗？嗯，有的。然后那个精灵在我们使用的房间附近兜来兜去，搞清了它的构造。我好容易才逃出一条命，而我的搭档——那个教给我我所知道的一切的人——被黑暗骑士们当场处了私刑。

可是，对啊，那种事时有发生。这就是我们所冒的风险。要是有一天它发生在我头上，我也只能认命啦。

可是又过了几年，另一个精灵毁了我的好事。那时候我已经在卡尔苟斯定居，我在那儿做一桩红红火火的生意，卖卡冈那斯提草药，从阳痿到痛风都能治。当然啦，那草药只不过是苹果酱，燕麦和百里香做的，可是反正大家都抢着买。在那个耳朵上插着羽毛和花儿，脸颊上纹着叶子的自命清高的精灵丫头出现之前，我的生意做得不可思议的好。我猜她来找我是以为我是她某个尖耳朵的表亲还是什么的，然后当她发现我不是的时候，她先是给我上了一堂真理和诚实的课……然后就开始痛殴我。

喂，这没啥可笑的。我差点没能从她和乡亲们的包围圈里逃出来！

可是这还没完呢。要是到那儿就完了，我大概也就把这归结为坏运气。可是两个月前，又发生了一件事！又有个该死的精灵出现了，他又毁了我的生活！

在离开卡尔苟斯以后，我最终住到了科瓦尔（Korval）。往北走而不是往南走，是因为我脑子里已经开始有了个概念：从某种意义上来说大部分精灵对我来说都是灾难——我再也不想离奎灵那斯提更近一步啦。

无论怎么看，科瓦尔都像是个开始一段全新生活的好地方。那是个古朴的小村镇，大概有一打的居民至今还定期去镇中央的一座小神殿里敬拜米莎凯和帕拉丁，每个人都是“社会良心”的完美典范。看上去，在这个完美的地方我可以轻松从容地温习一下过去的手法，比如说信仰疗法呀，通灵呀，预卜未来呀什么的。

在头四个月，科瓦尔简直是个天堂。我要做的只不过是“解读”几块山羊内脏，然后正确地猜测一个镇领导正在和另一个镇领导的老婆睡觉，这么就挣到了免费的客房和膳食。

可是当我听说治愈之河的传说的时候，就知道美好生活唾手可得了。根据当地流行的传说，它是群山之间的一条河流，米莎凯喜欢在那儿裸泳。这事的一个副产物是河水永久吸收了一部分她神圣的精华，因此，人们只要在这条河流中沐浴，一切困扰他们的疾病都会被治愈。问题是，通往这条河流所在山谷的唯一道路上有可怕的鬼魂出没。

作为一位常驻此地、无所不能又心地善良的超自然大师，我宣称我将勇敢面对潜伏在途中的一切敌人，带回装满圣水的水瓶。毕竟，要说有谁配得上从米莎凯的礼物中受益，那就是科瓦尔的居民，而显然，是命运安排我来到他们身边。那群善男信女说我没必要亲自冒这么大的风险——他们说自己没有治愈之水也照样过得很好——可是，我是如此无畏和无私的一个人，非为他们冒这个险不可。

呃，不，不是真的。我做的只不过是背上水果干和奶酪，到镇子东边的山上瞎逛几天。我还带了一打左右的空瓶子，三个星期后，再用某条流过山丘的小溪里的水灌满它们回到镇上。

当然了，我也知道那群乡巴佬最终会发现真相：那些瓶子里装的无非是饮用水。这个计划的第二步是告诉他们我找到了一个驱逐途中恶灵的办法，以便他们能亲自安全地前往治愈之河……只要带上他们神殿里的白金圣徽和大灾变后起作为镇长标志的那块缀满珠宝的纹章就可以了。你想，那条路上的愤怒精魂实际上是个塔克西丝牧师，只有这两件强大的善良象征物能击败他。是的，你一眼就看破了，可是我确信科瓦尔的那群善男信女会毫不犹豫地上这个钩。

劇透 -   :

Of Elves and Adventures: River of Healing, 27sc
 
Have I got a scheme for you, my friend! A genuine money-maker that can't fail. All we have to do is.... Will 
you look at that? Just like an elf to draw a knife on a guy for doing what comes naturally. If she didn't want 
menfolk coming onto her, she bloody well should stay out of taverns—or at least she should dress in a more 
modest fashion!
Have I ever told you how much I hate elves? Gods, it makes my blood boil just to think about those 
pointy-eared know-it-alls breathing the same air I do.
Why? Because they've made my life a living hell, that's why. Just about every time I had a racket that 
looked like it would work for the long haul, some damned elf has come along and screwed it up!
When I was a kid, I'd set up this nice little scheme where me and a partner were peddling visions from 
Takhisis. We'd set up shop in one of the temples in the Old District where we'd found a hollow that would let 
someone in a secret chamber pose as the "voice of the god." You've no idea how much drunken or stupid Dark 
Knights would pay to hear their goddess speak once I "channeled her" through my body. Worked like a 
charm . . . until some damn elf showed up. Didn't know there were elves among the Dark Knights, did you? 
Well, there are. And this one had been around for the construction of the rooms we were using. I barely 
escaped with my life, and my partner—who had taught me everything I knew—was lynched by the Dark 
Knights right there on the spot.
But, hey, that's what happens sometimes. That's the risks we take. I could have let it go if it'd been just that 
one time.
But a few years later, another elf ruined things for me. I'd gotten settled in Caergoth where I was doing a 
brisk business in selling Kagonesti herba cures for everything from gout to impotence. Of course, the cures 
were nothing but applesauce, oatmeal, and thyme, but people were snatching 'em up anyway. Until this 
holier-than-thou elven wench with feathers and flowers in her hair and a leaf tattooed on her cheek showed up, 
I was doing fantastic business. I guess she came looking for me, thinking I was one of her pointy-eared 
cousins or something, and when she discovered I wasn't, she first gave me a lecture about truth and 
honesty . . . and then she started kicking my ass.
Hey, there's nothing funny about this. Between her and the townsfolk I barely escaped!
But that's not it. If that had been the end of it, I might have just chalked it up to bad luck. But two months ago, 
it happened again! Another damn elf showed up and ruined by life!
After Caergoth, I eventually ended up in Korval. I'd headed north instead of south, because the idea that 
somehow elves in general were just bad news for me was already starting to form in my head—I had no desire 
to get any closer to Qualinesti than I'd already been.
At any rate, Korval looked like the perfect place for a completely fresh start. It was a quaint little village with 
about a dozen citizens that still held regular services to Mishakal and Paladine in a little temple at the heart of 
the town, and everyone was the perfect stereotype of 'salt of the earth.' Basically, it seemed like the perfect 
place to take it easy while dusting off some of the old stand-bys like faith healing, spirit channeling, and fortune 
telling.
For the first four months, Korval was paradise. All I had do was 'read' a few goat entrails and correctly 
guess that one of the town leaders was sleeping around with another town leader's wife and I had free room 
and board.
But when I heard the legend of the River of Healing, I knew I had it made. According to a favorite local story 
there, there was this river in the mountains where Mishakal liked to skinny-dip. A by-product of this was that 
the waters permanently took on part of her divine essence so that those who bathed in them would be cured of 
whatever ailed them. Problem is, terrible creatures haunted the only pass leading to the valley where this river 
could be found.
Being the resident all-around supernatural good guy, I announced that I would brave whatever foes lurked 
in the pass to bring back bottles filled with the blessed waters. After all, if anyone deserved the benefit of 
Mishakal's gift, the people of Korval did, and, clearly, it was fate that had sent me to them. The good people 
said there was no need for me to risk myself—they were doing fine without the healing waters they said—but, 
being the brave and selfless soul that I am, I put myself on the line for them.
Well, no, not really. All I did was load up on dried fruit and cheese and rough it for a few days in the hills to 
the east of town. I'd brought a dozen or so bottles along, too, and after three weeks, I filled them from one of 
the many streams running through the hills and then headed back into town.
Of course I knew that the yokels would eventually catch onto the fact that the bottles had nothing but 
drinking water in them. Part two of the plan was to tell them that I had discovered a way to put the evil spirits of 
the pass to rest so that they could safely travel to the River of Healing themselves ... all it would take was that 
platinum holy symbol from their temple and that jewel-encrusted medallion that's been the mayor's symbol of 
office since the time of the Cataclysm. You see, the angry spirit in the pass is really a priest of Takhisis and 
only those two mighty symbols of Good can smite him. Yeah, you can see right through it, but I'm sure the 
good people of Korval would have swallowed that line without hesitation.

[茶白猫小修]

可是我没机会尝试它。当我正享受着英雄般的热烈欢迎，把水分发给年老、体弱或是受了风寒的人们时，三只狮鹫从头顶飞过。

是的，你猜得一点不错。哪有狮鹫哪就有精灵。相信我，看到这一幕我心都凉了。我暗自祈祷他们一直往前飞，可是不。他们兜了回来，盘旋着落下了。

那是两个精灵……两个男精灵。其中一个完全是个神经病。他把镇长的女儿认成了他妹妹，把我一时认成史东·布莱特布雷德（Sturm Brightblade），一时又认成个龙人。噢，他还觉得科瓦尔是奎灵那斯提的某块地方，我们正在为他举办一场盛宴。

不管怎样吧，那个理智正常的精灵，名叫莱菔（Left）还是什么玩意儿的，他说他来这儿是为了找个向导带他们去治愈之河，或者至少找张地图——因为他那个疯子朋友中了毒，得趁着还来得及到那河里泡一泡。

所有人都在第一时间指向了我。然后那群村民贡献出了几瓶我给他们的水。那个疯精灵——那时他正相信自己就是奎灵那斯提的建国王姬斯卡南（Kith-Kanan）——痛饮了三瓶“从未尝过这种味道的甜酒”，然后似乎一下子清醒了过来。

自然了，我是唯一一个大吃一惊的人。他眼里的疯狂慢慢消褪之后，莱菔开始讲述发生在那个精灵身上的一连串极其混乱的事件——你知道精灵有多能唠叨，他当时就是这么唠叨个没完。他提到各种各样的荒唐事，比如满是钻石的山谷什么的。

与此同时，我则是尽我所能地鼓动他们拖着自己那把芦柴棒一样的瘦骨头离开我们镇。“暴风雨就要来了，”我说，“要是你们不赶快走，可能会被困在这儿。”

他看上去似乎接受了……可是这时候那群社会良心发话了。“您确定吗，先知（Seer）？”威尔伯特老头儿（Old Man Wellbyt）说。“我膝盖没肿。”寡妇妮尔（Widow Nell）谈起了她的关节炎。然后他们纷纷表示要在精灵们走之前招待他们。当然啰，那个发色比较浅的，刚恢复理智的精灵就非开口说话不可：“并不是说我们怀疑你的能力，预言家（soothsayer），但我的经验告诉我，在预测天气上，老人家的疾病比绝大多数高阶法师（Wizards of High Sorcery）要更准确。我想我们今天不走，等明天再走也不要紧。况且，我饿极了，能与科瓦尔的善良民众们共进一顿饭我深感荣幸。”莱菔当然表示同意。那两个尖耳朵好得如胶似漆的。等等……他的名字是不是莱菔来着？也可能是离谱（Leapt）？哎，随便了，反正也无关紧要。

不。做天气预报时有人喊一嗓子“可是我膝盖不疼！”不算什么万劫不复的大事。拜托，对我有点信心好吧！而且利用“数倍于人类一生的智慧集于他一身，他就是吉尔赛那斯”之类的话，我的威信没受到反对声音的损害。

没错，我捧得是有点太露骨了，不过效果不错。要说我对精灵还有那么一点了解，那就是他们的自尊心和耳朵一样大……你要误导他们，就冲着自尊心去准没错儿。

可是，结果证明，我根本就不用费这个劲儿。就在我正巴结那金发小子，给宴会出着主意的时候，他脸上忽然换上了一种憎恶的表情，他说：“我要告诉你几句我早在几年前就该说的话：我一想到你和她上床就恶心。她还是个孩子，她老跟着你转只不过是因为这让她感觉自己像个大人。要是你碰她一根手指头，我会二话不说地杀了你。”

我不明白他是什么意思，而我也再没机会明白了，因为他做的下一件事是尖声喊着“西悠瓦拉！西悠瓦拉！”跑向寡妇妮尔，双手抚摸着她的白发，开始梦呓着他找她找得有多么绝望，只有她才能填补他心中的空虚。如此种种荒谬的，绮丽的精灵式告白。

没错。他又疯回去了。我们所能做的就是阻止他带着那个老妖婆跑掉。莱菔怒气冲冲地转向我，我想我的把戏到头了，可是这时候威尔伯特发话了：“根据治愈之河的传说，人们必须在河流里洗澡，效果才能长期保持。威兰（Wylan）会带你们去的，我保证。”

对，我告诉他们我的名字叫“威兰”。听上去蛮像有魔力的。谁会搭理一个叫“派特”（Pehter）的魔术师啊？

不论怎样，莱菔开始催我告诉他去治愈之河怎么走，而且那群社会良心又一次决定帮他的忙。“不不不，您得和他们一块儿去，那位可怜的精灵比我们更需要帮助。或许他们能帮您一起干掉路上的精魂？”自然，莱菔说“只要我们能帮上的忙一定帮……只要吉尔赛那斯能康复，我相信他一定愿意和你们的秘术师携手铲除阻碍你们前往治愈之河的精魂。”然后他又接着唠叨起吉尔赛那斯的丰功伟绩——这时吉尔赛那斯正藏在附近的一辆手推车下边，尖叫说看到了一群长着蜗牛头的蓝龙。

不，我在那天之前从没听说过吉尔赛那斯的名字。呵呵。就是说，他真的是某种精灵王吗。我哪儿猜得到啊。无论他是什么，事情都不会有任何不同。当我们向那些山脉出发，沿着那群乡巴佬认为通往治愈之河的道路一路低飞的时候，他仍然被捆在一只狮鹫的背上，像个任性的小娃娃。

在这儿我给你一个建议——要是有谁邀请你乘在狮鹫背上飞行，千万别听他的！不止是因为那该死的寒冷——我永远不明白为啥尖耳朵们乘着那群野兽飞行的时候不会掉下来——而且你绝想不到那种生物嘴里吐出来的气是多么臭！除此之外，他们还嚣张得要命。我爬上我那只的时候，它差点就把我咬成了两半。

劇透 -   :

I never got a chance to even try it, though. While I was enjoying my hero's welcome and distributing water 
to the old, infirm, and sufferers of colds, a trio of griffins flew overhead.
Yeah, you're absolutely right. Griffins mean elves. Belive me, my blood ran cold at the sight. I silently 
prayed that they would just keep going, but no. They circled back and spiraled in for a landing.
There were two of them ... two males. One of them was a total loon. He thought the mayor's daughter was 
his sister and mistook me for Sturm Brightblade one moment and a draconian the next. Oh, and he thought 
Korval was some place in Qualinesti and that we'd assembled a feast in his honor.
At any rate, the sane elf, named Left or some-such, said he'd come looking for a guide to the River of 
Healing, or at least a map—his raving pal had been poisoned and needed to be dunked in it before it was too 
late.
First, everyone pointed fingers at me. Then the villagers offered up some of the bottles of water I'd given 
them. The crazy elf—who at that point in time believed himself to be Kith-Kanan, founder of 
Qualinesti—guzzled three bottles of 'sweet wine, the like of which he had never tasted before' and suddenly 
seemed lucid.
I was the only one who was startled, of course. After the madness went out of his eyes, Left started relating 
a whole string of very confusing events to the other elf—you know how elves can babble, and babble he did. 
He spoke of all sorts of nonsense like diamond-filled valleys.
Meanwhile, I did what I could to subtly encourage them to get their scrawny butts out of my town. "There's 
a storm coming," I said, "and if you don't leave now you may be trapped."
He looked like he was buying it... but then the Salt of the Earth decided to pipe up again. "Are you sure, 
Seer?" asked Old Man Wellbyt. "My knee ain't swollen." And then the Widow Nell started talking about her 
arthritis. And then they all started talking about wanting to feed the elves before they got on their way. And of 
course the lighter-blond one had to use his ne-found coherence to say, "It's not that we doubt your abilities, 
soothsayer, but my experience says that the ailments of the elderly are more accurate in predicting the 
weather than even most Wizards of High Sorcery could. I think we'll do just fine if we leave tomorrow rather 
than today. Plus, I'm famished, and I would be honored to share a meal with the good folk of Korval." And, of 
course, Left agreed with him. Those pointy-ears stick together like glue. Wait... was his name Left? Perhaps it 
was Leapt? Oh well, it doesn't matter.
Naw. It's never a problem to recover from the 'But my knee doesn't hurt!' when doing the weather prediction 
bit. C'mon, give me more credit than that! Plus, I had the advantage of demurring to "the wisdom of many 
lifetimes, collected in this one man, in he who is Gilthanas."
Yeah, I laid it on thick, but it worked. If there's one thing I know about elves, it's that they have egos as big 
as their ears ... and if you want to distract one, you appeal to his ego.
But, as it turned out, I shouldn't even have bothered. I was still buttering up Blondie and making 
suggestions for the feast when his face suddenly took on a hateful expression and he said, 'I'm going to tell you 
something I should have said years ago: I find the whole idea of you and her making love revolting. She's still 
a child, and she's only going after you because it makes her feel like an adult. If you lay a hand on her, I may 
just have to kill you.'
I don't know what he meant, and I never found out, because the next thing he did was shriek, "Silvara! 
Silvara!" and run up to the Widow Nell, run his hands through her white hair and start raving about how he has 
desperately searched for her and how only she could fill the emptiness in his heart. Flowery elf courting 
nonsense like that.
Yeah. He'd flipped out again. It was all we could do to keep him from running off with the old bat. Left turned 
on me angrily, and I thought the gig was up, but then Wellbyt piped up, "The legends of the River of the Healing 
says that people must bathe in it for its effects to take hold. Wylan will take you there, I'm sure."
Yeah. 'Wylan' is what I told them my name was. Seemed sort of magical-like. mean, who'd ever buy into a 
magical-mystical-worker named Pehter?
At any rate, Left started pushing me to show him to the River of Healing, and once again, the Salt of the 
Earth decided to be helpful. "No, you should go with them. That poor elf needs your help more than we do. 
Perhaps they can assist in slaying the spirits in the pass?" And of course, Left said "We will help you in any way 
we can ... if Gilthanas recovers, I've no doubt he will join your mystic in slaying the Evil spirits that are keeping 
you from the River of Healing." And then he proceeded to bore us all with the mighty deeds of Gilthanas—who 
was hiding under a nearby handcart, screaming about blue dragons with the heads of snails.
No, I'd never heard of Gilthanas until that day. Huh. So, he really was some kind of elfking. I never would 
have guessed. Not that it would have made a difference one way or other. He still got strapped to the back of 
one of the griffins like an unruly baby and we took off for the mountains, flying low along the pass that the 
yokels thought led to the River of Healing.
Here's a bit of advice for you—if someone ever offers you a ride on the back of a griffin, turn it down! Not 
only is it damn cold—why those pointy ears don't fall off while they're flying around on those beasts I'll never 
know—but you'd never think that creatures with beaks could have such foul breath! That, and they're damn 
unruly. As I was mounting mine, it almost bit me in half.

[茶白猫小修]

无论怎样，我们沿着那条路低低地飞，构成敏加山脉的死气沉沉的灰石板矗立在我们两侧。然后莱菔——他正骑在领头的狮鹫上，似乎用某种方式指挥着它们三个——的狮鹫忽然失去了控制。狮鹫似乎在半空中猛然一跳，要不是他被固定在鞍座上，一定早被甩下去摔死了。短短一秒之后，我的狮鹫也干了同样的事，它开始一边尖啸一边急速爬升到空中，脑袋前前后后地扭动着。我觉得自己在坚硬的鞍座上撞来撞去，脊椎像是要断了一样。狮鹫们尖啸着，莱菔也尖叫着让他们重回指挥之下，这时我骑着的这只忽然猛地从爬升变成了头朝下的俯冲，我被甩得紧贴着鞍座前方……当它俯冲完，我看见了导致这一切发生的原因。然后我也一块儿尖叫了起来！

紧贴在狮鹫身边的是个奇怪的人-鹰混合物的幽灵形体——那是个有着人类的躯干和头部，腿和翼形的手臂却像鸟的生物。它透明的魔爪撕裂了坐骑的腹部，正用幽灵般的牙齿从狮鹫的侧面扯下肉来。随着我的尖叫，它用鲜红的眼睛瞪着我，放开了我的坐骑。狮鹫用喙撕咬着那幻象，可是那可怕的生物完全不受影响。相反，它一双眼睛死死盯着我，尖声喊道：“人——类——！破坏了我们巢穴的人类！”我的坐骑再度猛然向上爬升，莱菔把自己的狮鹫拉离他的攻击者，那群怪物追过来，纷纷围绕着我。

我不羞于承认他们追上来的时候我吓尿了。我是个欺诈艺术家，不是什么冒险者，对付如此真实的鬼魂不是我的专长——这种离奇的类人飞行生物的鬼魂甚至不在我所知的名单上！我像一位见了蜘蛛的侍女一样尖叫起来：“把我放下！把我放到地面上！”

那群幻影蜂拥在我的周围。其中一个笔直地扑向我，它红彤彤的双眼锁定了我，一种感觉流过我的全身——这凝视直接烧灼着我的灵魂！

“人————类————！”那生物尖啸着露出獠牙，准备用它的利爪撕裂我的身体。

我紧紧闭上双眼，开始低声向李奥克斯（Reorx）祈祷。为什么是他？呃，老实说，这是我当时唯一能想起的神！说实话，我不是特别虔诚，但我发现只要你告诉矮人你有一片李奥克斯摸过的或是在大醉狂欢时呕出来的什么东西，他们就很容易掏钱。所以，李奥克斯是我打交道最多的神，因此在这一刻我就想起他来了。

嘿！不，我不经常祈祷。诸神从来没真正为我做过什么，他们也没惩罚过我什么。为什么要吸引潜在的负面关注呢？况且，如果你相信啸海来的那些人的话，那么诸神已经再也听不见我们祈祷了。真有趣，我从没把你看做那种虔诚的人。布兰查拉（Branchala），你信仰他？什么时候你得和我们介绍一下。

无论怎样，在那只鬼魂冲向我的时候，我闭上了眼睛叨念着祈祷。我的坐骑又改变了方向，再次急速下降。风以一种从未有过的力量掠过我的脸，那幻象冻寒的魔爪劈开空气，就在我的脑袋前一刻还在的地方。我蜷缩在鞍座上，死死闭着眼睛，耳边狂暴的风声淹没了鬼哭声。我以为自己的皮肤已经麻木了，再也感觉不到风的流动，耳旁的风声也渐渐消失了。

然后我听到了莱菔的声音：“没事了，威兰。现在可以睁开眼睛了。”

我四下看看，发现狮鹫已经着陆了，我的脸没有麻木……是风停了。我抬头看见那群阴森森的鸟人还在上面盘旋。看样子它们没法再接近了。

“您救了我们的命，”莱菔说，“我该向您道歉。在科瓦尔的时候，我还以为您是个骗子，但您证明我搞错了。我对精魂略有所知，但我也从没猜到过它们只能在空中存在。它们是什么的精魂？它们让我想起女妖（banshees），可是它们的行为挺不一样的。”

我惊呆了，有好一阵子说不出话来。我博得了一个精灵的青睐！这些可能性开始让我的脑子发晕。我在想，从哪儿开始呢。我能从这里面赚到多少钱？我脑子里一口气涌进来这么多主意，搞得我都不明白该从哪儿捞一把合适。于是我开始胡扯拖延时间，基本都是在编造些关于那些鬼魂的谎言。我开始解释那些精魂在混沌之夏中被黑暗骑士所杀的经过，以及此后那些鸟人们是如何在这条路上闹鬼的。

“它们是阿拉柯剌人（Aarakocra）还是鹰羽人？”莱菔问道。

“阿拉柯剌人，”我告诉他，我根本不知道这两个玩意儿分别是什么，可是，你懂得，只要你的语气特别权威，人们就会相信你。不，我记住了这两个词而没有记住莱菔的名字一点也不奇怪。你让我接着讲故事呀！我告诉莱菔，“它们一度是和平友爱的生物……你看他们在死后成了什么样的怪物，都怪那些可恨的骑士。真是太糟了，太糟了。”

当然，这句话引起了我想要的反应。黑暗骑士已经在奎灵那斯提盘踞了至少三十年，我很确定莱菔听到这件事不会高兴。

无论如何，我让他痛骂了一会儿黑暗骑士，成功地叫他彻底忘了那些鬼魂到底是阿拉柯剌人还是鹰羽人的事儿。当吉尔赛那斯开始哀嚎天空布满了蛞蝓的时候，莱菔认为我们该出发了。治愈之河就在前方，吉尔赛那斯的意识很快会恢复正常。

我有时会希望自己是个暴力的人，那是其中一次。那样我就能当时当场揍扁莱菔的脑袋，然后打道回府。哦是的，“危险已经过去了。”你什么都不知道吗，塞林（Selin）？我觉得既然你是诗人之神的信徒，你应该很熟悉那些冒险小队爬山钻洞的故事啊。第一个遇到的怪物永远不会比接下来遇到的更强！

可是，因为我不是个暴力的人，而且我没法想出个理由向他解释我们不该把这疯子带到山顶泡进河里，所以我们又上路了，这回我们不骑着狮鹫飞，而是牵着它们在地上走。

我跟你说，那是令人毛骨悚然的几天。我们一直觉得有东西在盯着我们。我不敢往上看，因为我知道盯着我们的是什么——是那些鸟人的鬼魂。它们在那儿等着我们再次飞上天空，然后就可以把我们的心脏掏出来。唯一的安慰是吉尔赛那斯陷入了半昏迷状态，总算停止了哀嚎。

劇透 -   :

At any rate, we flew low through the pass, the lifeless gray slabs of rock that make up the Vingaard 
Mountains rising on either side of us. Then Left—who was riding the lead griffin and seemed to be 
commanding all three of them somehow— lost control of his griffin. It seemed to buck in midair, and if he hadn't 
been strapped into the saddle, I'm sure he would have been thrown to his death. A split second later, mine did 
the same and it started screeching and climbing steeply into the air as it thrashed its head back and forth. I 
found myself flung against the back of the saddle so hard I feared my spine would break
The griffins were screeching and Left was shrieking orders to get them back under his control and the one 
I was riding suddenly went from a climb to a steep dive, throwing me forward in the saddle ... and when it did, 
I saw what was causing the problem. Then I started screaming, too!
Clinging to the griffin's side was the ghostly shape of a strange man-hawk—a creature with a human torso 
and head but winged arms and the legs of a bird. Its transparent talons were tearing the mount's belly and it 
was stripping flesh off the griffin's side with its ghostly teeth. When I screamed, it glared at me with red eyes 
and released my mount. The griffin snapped at the phantom with its beak but the terrible creature was 
unaffected. Instead, it fixed its eyes on me and shrieked, 'Huuumaaaan! The destroyer of our aerie!' My mount 
once again jerked upward in a sudden climb, Left pulled his griffin away from his attacker, and the monstrous 
creatures pursued, swarming all around me.
I'm not ashamed to admit that I wet myself as they came at me. I'm a con artist, not an adventurer, so real 
ghosts are not my forte—and ghosts of some bizarre flying humanoid are not even on my list of things I knew 
existed! So I started screaming like a lady-in-waiting confronted with a spider: "Get me down! Get me on the 
ground!"
The phantoms were swarming all around me. One of them came straight at me, its glowing red eyes locking 
onto mine and a sensation rushed through me that said that gaze was searing my very soul!
"Huuumaaaaaaan!" the creature shrieked, bearing fangs and preparing to rip into me with its talons.
I squeezed my eyes shut and started whispering a prayer to Reorx. Why? Well, honestly, it was the only 
god I could think of at the time! I'm not very religious, to be honest, but I found that dwarves part with their cash 
easily if you convince them that you've got a piece of something that Reorx touched or regurgitatd during a 
drunken binge. So, Reorx came to mind because he's the god I've dealt with the most.
Ha! No, I don't pray regularly. The gods have never really done anything for me, but they haven't done 
anything to me either. Why attract potentially negative attention? Plus, if you can believe those people from 
Schallsea, the gods aren't listening anymore. Interesting. I never had you pegged for the religious sort. 
Branchala, huh? Well, you'll have to introduce us some time.
At any rate, I closed my eyes as the ghost rushed toward me and muttered a prayer. My mount changed 
directions again, once more plunging downward. The air rushed against my face with unprecedented force 
and the icy chill of the phantom claw as it cleaved the air where my head had been moments before. I huddled 
in the saddle, keeping my eyes shut as the rush of wind in my ears drowned out the cries of the ghosts. I 
thought my skin grew so numb that I could no longer feel the wind upon it, and then the rush of wind faded in 
my ears as well.
And then Left's voice: "It's all right, Wylan. You can open your eyes now."
I looked around and discovered that the griffin had landed; my face hadn't gone numb . . . the wind had just 
stopped. I looked up and saw that the ghostly bird-men were still circling above. They seemed unable to come 
closer.
"You saved our lives," Left said. "And I owe you an apology. Back in Korval, I was thinking you were a fraud, 
but you've proven me wrong. I have some small knowledge of spirits, but even I never would have guessed 
that their existence is restricted to the air. What kind of spirits are they? They remind me of banshees, but their 
behavior is different."
I was so stunned that it took me a moment to find my voice. I had impressed an elf! My mind started reeling 
with the possibilities. Where to begin, I was thinking. How much could I make out of this? So many ideas 
flooded my mind that I didn't know where to take things from there. So I started talking to stall for time, basically 
spinning lies about the ghosts. I started explaining how the spirits were slain by Dark Knights during the 
Summer of Chaos and how the bird-men have been haunting the pass every since.
"Were they aarakocra or kyrie?" Left asked.
"Aarakocra," I told him, not really knowing what either of those things are but, as you know, as long as you 
sound authoritative, people believe you. No, it's not strange how I remembered those two names when I didn't 
catch Left's. Just let me tell my story! I told Left, "They were once peaceful, loving creatures . . . look what kind 
of monsters they have become in the afterlife, all because of those hateful Knights. It's terrible. Terrible." 
Which, of course, triggered the response I wanted. The Dark Knights have been squatting in Qualinesti for at 
least thirty years now, and I was pretty sure Left wasn't too happy about it.
Anyhow, I got him ranting about the Dark Knights for a bit, successfully making him forget all about whether 
those ghosts were aarakocra or kyrie. And when Gilthanas started howling about the slugs that were filling the 
sky, Left decided that we should get underway. The River of Healing awaited and soon Gilthanas's mind would 
be restored.
That was one of the moments I wished I was a violent man. I could have bashed Left's head in, right then 
and there and turned back. Oh yeah, "the danger was over." Don't you know anything, Selin? I thought being a 
worshiper of a bard god and all you would be familiar with all those stories about adventuring parties that either 
go up a mountain or climb down a hole. The first monsters met are never as bad as the ones that follow!
But, since I'm not a violent man, and since I couldn't come up with a reason why we shouldn't take the loony 
up to the top and dunk him in the river, we started out again, walking the griffins along the ground instead of 
flying on them.
That was a creepy couple of days, let me tell you. It felt like we were being watched the whole time. I didn't 
dare look up because I kne what was watching us—those ghostly birdmen. They were just waiting for us to 
take to the sky again so they could rip our hearts out. The only upside was that Gilthanas slipped into a 
semiconscious state and stopped his howling.

[茶白猫小修]

最终，道路开阔起来，眼前是一片美丽葱茏的山谷，就是我先前说的那种故事里你能发现双头食人魔（two-headed ogres）在奴役独角兽（unicorn）和漂亮女孩儿的那种地方。

不，那片山谷里当然没有那种东西。它就是一片山谷，虽然是很美的那种。它的形状有点像个碗，从通往道路的入口我们可以看见一片波光粼粼的澄净湖泊，旁边有座小小的建筑。有条破损的、杂草丛生的道路通往建筑，一条与湖水同样闪亮的河流在许多常青树之间蜿蜒着。

我自豪地宣称这就是治愈之河和治愈之湖。莱菔问这座建筑是什么，在我寻思出答案之前他自告奋勇地提供了一个：“是座米莎凯神殿吗？”

我迅速同意他的意见，并从它破败的外观幸运地猜到了它是座废弃的神殿。我告诉他长枪战争后牧师们在这儿定居，但此后黑暗骑士们把他们也杀了。这激起了他对黑暗骑士新一轮的咒骂和谴责——莱菔大概是我遇到过的人当中最容易操纵的家伙，我开始怀疑自己是不是应该加入他和他朋友的行列一块儿旅行。依靠他们生活无疑十分轻松。

不过我马上就记起了自己是在和精灵们打交道。我必须在他们让我在科瓦尔到嘴的鸭子飞掉之前摆脱他们。因此，我提醒莱菔，还有他那不幸的哥们儿呢。

我们牵着狮鹫走下湖岸。在这儿，我们给吉尔赛那斯松了绑，开始脱他的衣服。这时候，他又开始嘀咕西悠瓦拉的名字。喂，这不好笑啦。不过我可以告诉你，在那以后我就让莱菔自己给他脱了。

无论怎样，他总算被扒了个精光，我们牵着他走到湖边。莱菔问我我们接下来该做什么。我耸耸肩，把吉尔赛那斯推下水。莱菔指名道姓地咒骂我，紧跟着他的朋友跳下水去。片刻之后两人都浮出了水面——我不清楚你能不能想像，不过精灵在湿的时候看上去比他们原本还要瘦。还有，听到莱菔满嘴的脏话，我觉得他们也变得好像掉进水里的猫一样生气。

不过，吉尔赛那斯看上去还好。只有那么一瞬间还好。然后他一边对莱菔大打出手，一边喊着“丑恶的孔纳！你别想再拘禁我！在我就快要找到我心爱的西悠瓦拉的时候，别想！”

我低声咒骂着，涉水下湖。吉尔赛那斯仍然尖声嚷嚷着关于孔纳和西悠瓦拉的事，正打算把被打晕的莱菔淹死在水里。我抓住他的肩膀，他转向我。“坦尼斯！”他发现了我，开始对我咆哮，“坦尼斯，你夺走了我妹妹的贞操，你要付出代价的！”然后他掐住我的喉咙，把我推下水底。

我不知道坦尼斯这家伙是谁，但我为他祈祷永远不要和吉尔赛那斯狭路相逢。我不认为他能活着离开。要不是莱菔相救，吉尔赛那斯早已杀了我。莱菔一拳砸在吉尔赛那斯头上，把我们俩一块儿从水里拖了起来。

“为什么不起效？”他质问道，我正忙着咳出肺部的水。我指出原因之一或许是因为这片地方叫“治愈之河”。然后我发现我的这句挖苦似乎已经戳穿了自己的谎言，我赶紧补充说：“喝这口湖里的水治小病，但可能只有河水本身能治疗严重的状况。”

莱菔看上去既怀疑又不信任，但他还是拎起失去意识的吉尔赛那斯，把他丢在一只狮鹫背上。然后他骑着那只狮鹫横穿湖面。我看着他把吉尔赛那斯浸在河里。那个疯精灵苏醒过来开始挣扎。可是莱菔把他按到水下，让他在那儿泡了一阵子。然后他把吉尔赛那斯拖出来，扔到岸上。他在另一个精灵身边站了一会儿，吉尔赛那斯踉踉跄跄地站了起来。他们彼此面对面站着，似乎过了极其漫长的一段时间，然后他们抱在一起。它生效了。这条河治愈了吉尔赛那斯的疯狂。这是个皆大欢喜的结局——除了我以外。

嗯，我猜它本可能是个皆大欢喜的结局，要不是吉尔赛那斯偏偏是这么个该死的“不夺人之美”的荣誉狂的话。他首先再三地为攻击我道歉，解释说他记得自己把我错认成了坦尼斯，他妹妹罗拉娜死去的丈夫。

真的吗？那个坦尼斯。哎呦。我不知道黄金将军嫁给了他啊。不过，这么一说就连起来了。那我就理解为什么吉尔赛那斯会被激怒了。说到底，他不希望人类的血脉污染了他珍贵的精灵血统，对吧？

无论怎样，那天晚上我们借宿在米莎凯神殿的废墟里——顺便一提，那真是个好地方。那儿有许多幅裸体女性在湖中洗澡的图画。吉尔赛那斯认为那是女神米莎凯的画像。那儿还有两尊她的雕像。塞林，我跟你说啊，要是我决定开始定期礼拜某个神，或成为哪个神的信徒，我想我一定会选米莎凯。在我礼拜得无聊起来的时候，只要往后一靠，欣赏这些场景就好了。

好吧。你说得对。这是对女神的不敬。我道歉。我又跑题了。

正如我所说的，在废墟中度过一夜之后，我们启程返回科瓦尔。我试着说服吉尔赛那斯和莱菔我一个人回去就好。我跟他们说，等我回去，我会组织一批小伙子来这儿重修神殿，把它变成需要治愈之水的病人们的庇护所。我觉得我本可以说服莱菔离开的，但是该死的吉尔赛那斯要回科瓦尔感谢那儿的人民他们的善良。哪里善良了？他们做的只不过是指着我说“他会带你们去你们想去的地方”好吗！

可是，他是精灵王子嘛，他想干啥就干啥。我们牵着狮鹫原路返回——尽管在关于鬼魂来龙去脉的问题上吉尔赛那斯不像莱菔那么好骗，但我还是做到了——最终抵达了科瓦尔。那群社会良心用先前承诺的盛宴招待了吉尔赛那斯。他们赞美我是他们村镇有史以来出现的最伟大的存在。他们把自己的女儿献给了莱菔。不，不是真的，后边那句我开玩笑的。不过他们的确做得有点过火。可是，假如莱菔和吉尔赛那斯只是吃完他们的猪肉上路走人，那么对我和对他们来说这仍然都还算是好聚好散。可是你见过有哪个精灵会在他有机会站在一伙观众面前博取他们青睐的时候闭嘴吗？没有吧，当然没有。我也没见过。我跟你说啊，吉尔赛那斯表现得就像个典型的精灵。

在宴会上，那位卡拉曼与奎灵纳斯提的伟大的什么什么王站起身来向我敬酒并演说祝酒词。他告诉他们我打算重建山谷中米莎凯神殿的愿望是多么迫切，并敦促他们所有人尽快搬去那片土地肥沃，还有能令他们永葆健康的神奇水源的地方。“你们可以创造一片宁静、喜乐、健康的港湾……而这一切都要感谢索兰萨斯（Solanthus）的威兰！”

第二天早晨，两位精灵离开了。在那周结束之前，科瓦尔的一批年轻人一直在准备探索通往治愈之河的道路。在吉尔赛那斯小小的动员演说和大肆解说我发现鬼魂毫无威胁的经过之后，他们再也不害怕了。吉尔赛那斯那个家伙。他的口才或许能把沙子卖给瑞尔苟斯（Relgoth）人。月底之前，那群年轻人回来了，他们决定搬去山谷。大家都十分兴奋，因为我就要带领他们去那片不可思议的新土地，远离疾病、山贼，以及可能的恶劣天气了。

第二天夜里，我收拾好东西离开了小镇。为什么？你怎么会问为什么？我不喜欢村民们对我摇尾奉承，除非有利可图。帮着他们搬迁这该死的村镇一定是件辛苦的工作，做个真正的精神领袖也比假装自己是个精神领袖要难得多。领袖这种事是吉尔赛那斯和黑暗骑士那种爱叨叨个没完的人干的。我呢，我只想要人们的钱。一旦吉尔赛那斯告诉科瓦尔的人们治愈之河是个安全的地方，我也就赚不到什么钱了。那儿也不会再有免费的午餐，因为他们从此对我寄予了期望。期望某些真实的东西。该死的精灵们。就像我说过的，他们毁掉了我的每一件好事——

不，别和我来这套。吉尔赛那斯和莱菔可不是给了我什么做好事的机会。他们毁了我的机遇……喂，那事真他娘的奇怪。瞧那边，那个精灵女人，之前拿着把小刀威胁矮冬瓜（Stumpy）的……那个和罗兰纳斯爵士（Sir Lorannus）一块儿上楼去的不就是她吗？精灵们都是疯子。她拒绝了一个矮冬瓜那么完美的好人，可是却完全愿意和罗兰纳斯那个殷勤的傻瓜睡一张床。

该死的黑暗骑士。要是你问我，我会说他们简直就跟精灵们一样坏。他们正好是般配的一对儿。

哦，谈到黑暗骑士和正好般配，我来这儿可不是为了拿精灵们的故事烦你的。我是来招募你参加我最新的计划的。你觉得这玩意儿怎么样：史东·布莱特布雷德的长剑碎片？我刚找到个买家来着。

劇透 -   :

Eventually, the pass opened up into a beautiful lush valley, the kind of place where in those stories I 
mentioned before you'll find two-headed ogres enslaving unicorns and fair maidens.
No, of course there was nothing like that in the valley. It was just a valley, although a beautiful one. It was 
shaped a bit like a bowl and from the mouth of the pass we could see a lake of sparkling clear water with a 
small building by its side. A broken and overgrown road led to the building, and a river that glittered like the 
lake snaked its way out of view among some evergreens.
I proudly pronounced that this was the River and the Lake of Healing. Left asked what the building was, and 
as I fumbled for an answer he volunteered one. "Is it a temple of Mishakal?"
I quickly agreed with him and made a lucky guess that it was abandoned based on its run-down 
appearance. I told him that priests had settled here after the War of the Lance but that the Dark Knights had 
killed them too. That triggered another round of cursing and condemning of Dark Knights— Left was about the 
easiest guy to manipulate that I've ever come across and I was starting to wonder if I should just go ahead and 
join him and his friend. Living off them would no doubt be easy.
But then I remembered that these were elves I was dealing with. I just had to get rid of them before they 
ruined my sure thing in Korval. So, I reminded Left of his unfortunate buddy.
We walked the griffins down the shore of the lake. Here, we untied Gilthanas and started to undress him. At 
that point, he started muttering about Silvara again. Hey, that isn't funny. But I can tell you that I let Left deal 
with undressing him after that.
At any rate, he got stripped and we walked him to the shore of the lake. Left asked me what we were to do. 
I shrugged and pushed Gilthanas in. Left cursed my name and jumped into the water after his friend. They both 
emerged moments later—I don't know if you can picture it, but elves look even skinnier when they're wet. And, 
based on Left's foul mouth, I think they get about as angry as a cat in water as well.
Gilthanas seemed okay, though. For a split second. Then he slugged Left, shouting, "Foul Konnal! You will 
not imprison me again! Not when I am this close to finding my beloved Silvara!"
Cursing under my breath, I waded into the lake. Gilthanas was trying to drown the stunned Left, still 
screaming about Konnal and Silvara. I grabbed hold of his shoulder and he whirled on me. "Tanis!," he 
bellowed when he spotted me. "Tanis, you will pay for robbing my sister of her virtue!" And then he grabbed me 
by the throat and thrust me under the water.
I have no idea who this Tanis guy is, but I hope for his sake that he never crosses paths with Gilthanas. I 
don't think he'd walk away from it. Gilthanas would have killed me if not for Left. Left hit Gilthanas upside the 
head and dragged both of us from the water.
"Why didn't it work?" he demanded as I tried to cough the water out of my lungs. I suggested that maybe 
there's a reason it's called the "River of Healing." Then I realized that my sarcasm might have tipped my con 
and I quickly added: "Drinking the water of the lake works for minor ailments, but perhaps only the river itself 
can cure serious conditions."
Left looked doubtful and distrustful, but he still grabbed the unconscious Gilthanas and tossed him over the 
back of one of the griffins. He then rode the beast across the lake. I watched as he submerged Gilthanas in the 
river. The crazy elf regained consciousness and struggled. But Left forced him under the water and held him 
there for several moments. Then he dragged Gilthanas out and threw him on the shore. He stood over the 
other elf for a moment, and then Gilthanas stumbled to his feet. They stood across fromeach other for what 
seemed like a very long time, and then they embraced. It had worked. The river had cured Gilthanas of his 
madness. It was a happy ending for everyone but me.
Well, I guess it might have been if Gilthanas hadn't turned out to be such a damn "credit where credit is due" 
honor freak. First he apologized profusely for attacking me, explaining that he remembered mistaking me for 
Tanis, his sister Laurana's dead husband.
Really? That Tanis. Huh. I didn't know the Golden General was married to him. That does make sense, 
though. And I can understand why Gilthanas would be ticked. After all, he wouldn't want human blood 
contaminating his precious elven bloodline, now would he?
At any rate, we spent the night in the ruins of the Temple of Mishakal—which was quite the place, by the 
way. There were images of a naked woman bathing in the lake. Gilthanas thought that it was an image of the 
goddess Mishakal. There were a couple of statues of her in there as well. Selin, let me tell you, if I were to start 
attending service on a regular basis or worship someone, I think it would have to be Mishakal. If the service 
gets boring, I'd just sit back and enjoy the scenery.
Okay. You're right. That's being disrespectful to the goddess. I apologize. And I got myself sidetracked 
again.
As I was saying, after spending the night in the ruins, we headed back to Korval. I tried convincing 
Gilthanas and Left that I would make it back just fine on my own. And once I got there, I told them, I'd round up 
a bunch of the young men and we'd come up here and repair the temple and use it as a shelter for the sick who 
need the healing waters. I think I could have convinced Left to go, but damned Gilthanas wanted to travel to 
Korval and thank the people there for their kindness. What kindness? All they did was point their fingers at me 
and say, "He'll take ya to where you want to go!"
But, being that he was the elf prince, he got his way. We walked the griffins back through the 
pass—Gilthanas was a lot harder to bamboozle as far as the ghosts go than Left was but I nonetheless did 
it—and we eventually reached Korval. The Salt of the Earth gave Gilthanas his promised feast. They hailed me 
as the greatest thing to happen to their village since they discovered fire. They offered Left their daughters. No, 
not really. I'm kidding about that last part. But they did go way over the top. Still, if Left and Gilthanas had just 
eaten their pork and been on their way, it might still have been a happy parting for me as well as them. But 
have you ever known an elf to keep his mouth shut where there's a chance to get in front of an audience and 
impress them? No, of course not. And neither have I. And let me tell you, Gilthanas behaved true to type.
During the feast, the Lord-Grandwhathaveyou of Kalaman and Qualinesti got up and gave a toast and a 
speech in my honor. He told them all about how I intended to reopen the Temple of Mishakal in the valley and 
started urging all of them to relocate up there where the ground was fertile and the magical waters would keep 
them healthy. "You can create an island of tranquility, joy, and health . . . and you have Wylan of Solanthus to 
thank for it!"
The next morning the elves left. By the end of the week, some of the younger people of Korval were 
preparing for a mission to explore the pass to the River of Healing. After Gilthanas's little pep talk and grand 
explanation of how I'd discovered the ghosts were no threat, they were no longer afraid. That Gilthanas. He 
could probably sell sand to the people of Relgoth. By the end of the month, the young folk had come back and 
they decided that moving to the valley was the thing to do. Everyone was so excited that I was going to lead 
them to this wonderful new place, away from illness, bandits, and probably even bad weather.
The following night, I gathered my belongings and left town. Why? What do you mean why? I'm not 
interested in having villagers fawn over me unless there's a take to be had. Hlping them move their damn 
town would have been hard work, and being a real spiritual leader is a lot harder than just pretending to be one. 
Leadership is for blabbermouths like Gilthanas and Dark Knights. Me, I just want people's money. Once 
Gilthanas told the people of Korval that the River of Healing was safe, there was no money to be had. There 
weren't even any free meals, because they were going to expect something of me. Something real. Damn 
elves. Like I said, they've ruined every good thing I've ever—
No, don't you give me that. Gilthanas and Left didn't leave me the opportunity to do good. They fouled an 
opportunity to ... hey, isn't that just the strangest damn thing. Look at that. That elf woman, the one who 
threatened Stumpy with a knife ... isn't that her? Heading up the stairs with Sir Lorannus? Elves are crazy. 
She'll turn down a perfectly good guy like Stumpy, but is perfectly willing to share her bed with an officious 
ninny like Lorannus.
Damn Dark Knights. They're almost as bad as elves if you ask me. They deserve each other.
Oh, speaking of Dark Knights and deserving each other, I didn't come here to bore you with stories about 
elves. I came to recruit you for my latest scam. How does this grab you: Fragments of Sturm Brightblade's 
sword. I have just the buyer lined up.

[茶白猫小修]

哈苟斯（Hargoth），27sc

港城哈苟斯是座繁华的人类聚居地，距离科瓦尔大约一天的飞行路程。熙熙攘攘的人群立刻让吉尔赛那斯怀念起那段漂泊的日子，那段或孤身一人生活探索，或只有莱萨格斯陪伴在旁的日子。

相较而言，那位较年轻的精灵似乎很欢迎周围的活跃氛围，抱着兴高采烈的热情投入到这座城市的生活中去。在一所接待精灵而不盘问他们的旅店里，为两人找到一间干净又不昂贵的客房的正是莱斯。在西安塞隆旅行的如今，吉尔赛那斯决定对自己的身份保密。他们遇到的几乎所有精灵都来自奎灵那斯提，他想避免引起注意，也想避免人们一旦得知“流浪的王子出现在离家乡如此之近的地方”后随之而来的流言。

因此，他只是在旅店周围等待，或是像个无名的流浪者一样在城中游荡。他让同伴代为打听，心知莱斯会走遍哈苟斯周边，探听所能得到的一切关于银龙们的消息。这个年轻人敏感而腼腆，在环顾繁忙的海滨，或是途经那些拥挤的旅店之间时，他从未直接提及西悠瓦拉的名字。

来到这座城市第十天后的一个深夜，莱斯回到他们的客房，叫醒了吉尔赛那斯。王子注意到，地平线上已经出现了一线曙光。

“我找到一位精灵，说想和您谈谈……他说他知道关于银龙们的消息。”

“他在哪儿？”吉尔赛那斯眨着眼赶走眼中的睡意，套上短上衣。他提上靴子，把长剑扣在腰间，站起身来，这时他已经完全清醒过来准备出发。

“在码头的水手之家附近和我们碰面，”莱斯答道，“他现在正等着我们。”

数分钟之后，两人就穿过了这座城镇几乎空荡荡的街头。当吉尔赛那斯看见那座大厅的尖顶时，天空已经明亮起来，变成一种极浅淡的蓝色。附近有个幽暗的入口，通往一座小小的石质建筑。

“他在那儿。”莱斯指给他看一个等在阴暗门洞内的身影。

“他是个精灵？”那家伙的隐秘作风和沉重的斗篷都让吉尔赛那斯觉得他更像是一个人类匪徒——某种海盗，或是后街杀手什么的。他看不见那个精灵的脸，只能看见他下颌模糊的轮廓。

“我听说你正在找银龙们，”那个神秘的家伙用一种嘶哑的声音说，这声线完全没能消除吉尔赛那斯对他的第一印象。

“你是谁？”王子立即感到怀疑，质问道。

“原谅我，我伟大的主人，”那家伙用一种淌得出嘲弄的声音冷笑道。他把深深的兜帽往后一拉，吉尔赛那斯看见了一对证明他精灵身份的尖耳朵。他的长发编成一条细细的马尾垂在身后，这种发型对于他的精灵同胞们而言可不寻常，“我只不过是个卑微的仆人，在您的面前我不配通名道姓。”

吉尔赛那斯决定不再追问这件事：“你知道些什么？关于那条银龙的事。”

“那条……不是其中随便哪条都好吗？那么说来，你是在寻找某只特定的猎物了？”

“我找那条龙的原因和你无关。”

那精灵匪徒耸耸肩：“或许是这样……或许不是。不过我会带你去个我们能得到答案的地方。”

那神秘的情报提供者猛地推开了身后的门，在那里面，吉尔赛那斯看见了一条黯淡烛光映照下的黑暗走廊。他的目光很快停留在走廊尽头墙上一处恐怖的雕像上。五颗头闪着暗沉沉的光芒，眼睛一眨不眨地睥睨着他。每一颗都安在一条蛇颈上，在看见那五种颜色之前，吉尔赛那斯就明白过来，这是一处黑暗之后塔克西丝的圣地。

“叛徒！”他大喊着，揪住那精灵的斗篷，粗暴地把他按倒在石墙上。

“不！”对方以惊人的信念坚持说，“你要知道其他精灵也一样在帮助黑暗骑士们——他们是这个行将崩坏的世界上胜利的唯一希望。走进去，亲眼看看。听我说！你会明白的——你会看到的！”

“我不会！”吉尔赛那斯愤怒地强调道。他抽出剑，把剑尖对准了那个精灵的喉咙，“关于银龙你知道些什么？”

“什么都不知道！”那个倒霉的可怜虫哀号道，“我知道那些骑士能帮你找到它们然后杀了它们！每杀一条善龙都能拿到一笔赏钱！他们会赏给你很多！”

吉尔赛那斯的手臂颤抖着，他感到一股强烈的冲动，想要一剑扎到底，结束这污秽的生物战栗的生命。可是有某种模糊的善念令他停了手，最后他把那精灵掼在地下，抬起一只脚踢向……

然后他突然转身离开。

他还剑入鞘，莱斯在后面追着他。

“我很抱歉，”年轻的精灵伤心地说，“我以为他是……那是……”

“别介意。”吉尔赛那斯说，他仍在对自己的同胞转向黑暗之后麾下感到厌恶。

“我还继续找下去，继续打听下去吗？”莱斯问。

“我们在这儿找不到任何东西，”吉尔赛那斯激烈地摇着头说。西悠瓦拉的踪迹已经无处追寻，迷失在广袤大陆的一团乱麻之中。他极力反抗着一波波袭来的绝望，明白自己现在只有一件事可做。

“是回家的时候了。”他说，回想起奎灵那斯提，他的思绪明快起来。

劇透 -   :

Hargoth, 27sc
 
The port city of Hargoth was a bustling center of humanity about a day's flight from Korval. The constant 
movement of people made Gilthanas immediately long for the days of wandering, of solitary living and study, 
or of the sole companionship of Lethagas.
The younger elf, in contrast, seemed to welcome the surrounding activity and threw himself into the life of 
the city with boisterous enthusiasm. It was Leth who found them a clean, inexpensive room in an inn where 
elves were welcomed, but not questioned. Now that they were traversing western Ansalon, Gilthanas had 
decided to keep his identity a secret. Nearly all the elves they encountered came from Qualinesti, and he 
wished to avoid attention, as well as the attendant rumors that would arise if the wandering prince was known 
to be this close to home.
Instead, he waited around the inn or wandered the city as an anonymous vagabond. He let his companion 
ask the questions, knowing that Leth was getting around Hargoth and seeking any information he could 
regarding silver dragons. The youngster was subtle and coy, never mentioning Silvara by name as he looked 
around the busy waterfront and worked his way through the many crowded inns.
Late one evening, after ten days in the city, Leth awakened Gilthanas when he returned to their room. The 
prince noticed the traces of dawn already brightening the horizon.
"I have found an elf who wants to talk to you ... who says he has information about silver dragons."
"Where is he?" Gilthanas blinked the sleep from his eyes and shrugged into his tunic. Pulling on his boots 
and buckling his sword around his waist, he stood, wide awake and ready to go.
"He will meet us near the Sailor's Guildhouse at the wharf," Leth replied. "He's waiting for us now."
In a few minutes, the pair made their way through the nearly empty streets of the town. The sky had 
brightened to a very pale blue when Gilthanas saw the peaked roof of a large hall. Nearby was the shadowy 
entrance to a small, stone building.
"There he is." Leth indicated the figure waiting within the dark alcove.
"That's an elf?" The fellow's furtive manner and heavy cloak reminded Gilthanas more of a human 
scoundrel—some pirate or back-street cutthroat. He couldn't see the elf's face, except for a vague outline of 
his chin.
"I hear you's looking for silver dragons," said the mysterious fellow in a hoarse voice that did nothing to 
dispel Gilthanas's earlier impression.
"Who are you?" demanded the prince, immediately suspicious.
"Forgive me, O Great Lord," sneered the fellow in a voice dripping with mockery. He pushed back the deep 
hood and Gilthanas saw the pointed ears that proved him an elf. His long hair was tid in a narrow tail down his 
back, which was a style unusual for a fellow elf. "I am but a humble servant unworthy even of being named in 
your presence."
Gilthanas decided not to press the issue. "What do you know of a dragon of silver?"
"A dragon ... not just any one of them? Are you going hunting for specific prey, then?"
"The reason I seek this dragon is not your concern."
The elven scoundrel shrugged. "Maybe ... maybe not. But I'll show you where we can find the answers."
The mysterious informant abruptly pushed open the door behind him. Within, Gilthanas saw a dark corridor, 
dimly lit by candles. But his eyes immediately fastened on the horrible image rendered on the interior wall.
Five heads gleamed black at him, leering with unblinking stares. Each was the terminus of a serpentine 
neck, and even before he saw the five colors Gilthanas knew that this was a place of Takhisis, the Queen of 
Darkness.
"Traitor!" he cried, seizing the elf's cloak and roughly pushing him against the stone wall.
"No!" insisted the other with surprising conviction. "You should know that other elves are aiding the Dark 
Knights also—they offer the only hope of victory in this dying world. Enter and see for yourself. Listen! You will 
learn—you will see!"
"I will not!" Gilthanas insisted, furious. He drew his sword and pressed the tip against the elf's throat. "What 
do you know of silver dragons?"
"Nothing!" wailed the miserable wretch. "Just that the Knights will help you find them and kill them! There is 
a reward for each Good dragon slain. They will pay you well!"
Gilthanas's arm trembled and he felt a powerful urge to drive the sword home and end the quivering life of 
this foul creature. Only some vague memory of kindness held his hand, and at last he cast the elf to the ground, 
drawing back his foot to kick ...
And abruptly turning away.
He slammed his blade back into the sheath as Leth fell in behind him.
"I'm sorry," said the young elf miserably. "I thought he was ... that is...."
"Never mind," said Gilthanas, still sickened at the thought of his people turning to the Dark Queen.
"Should I keep looking and asking?" inquired Leth.
"There's nothing for us here," Gilthanas said with a sharp shake of his head. Silvara's trail was cold, lost in 
the tangle of a vast continent. He fought against a wave of hopelessness, and knew there was only one thing 
he could do.
"It's time to go home," he said, and his thoughts brightened at the memory of Qualinesti.

[茶白猫小修]

无尽一瞬碎散时
 
当吉尔赛那斯再度转向我时，我发现他的表情有了变化，在旋身而过的这一刹那，我们中有一方——或是双方——给予了对方最后的致命一击。他脸上刚刚那种准备与我战斗时的紧张神情松弛下来，他的胸口快速地上下起伏着。不知为什么，我的注意力集中在那道如今损害了他容貌的疤痕上，而除此之外他的一切都与我当年遇见他的那一天毫无二致。从我们初次相逢到如今已经过了整整十年，在这段时间里第一道皱纹爬上了我的前额，男子气的胡须也在我的下颌上滋长。然而，若不是吉尔赛那斯脸上多了那道疤痕，我或许真的会以为我们在一瞬之前才刚见第一面。

精灵不仅拥有极其漫长的寿命，而且他们的外形也不会随着年岁增长而变化。

与他这样的一生相比较，我等人类一生的长度又是怎样的呢？会不会只是他生涯中的一瞬？会不会就仿佛我们渐渐衰老最终死去，而他却青春永驻一样呢？

他离我远去，可是他没有动。一定是魔法又起了作用。

无论如何，这一切在一瞬之间就会终结。

“为什么？”我听见吉尔赛那斯说。他又离我近了些。不知为何，阳光不再在他的剑上闪耀。

为什么？我哪儿有时间解释呢？的确有人说一个人死去的那一瞬将持续永恒，但那只是就垂死那一方的角度而言。我无法告诉吉尔赛那斯他期望了解的真相。因为在下一次心跳前，他就将逝去。我们中有人挥出了致命的一击，而我确信无疑，那个人就是我。

劇透 -   :

The Endless Moment Shatters
 
I saw Gilthanas's expression shift as he turned toward me again, completing the spin during which one or 
both of us had delivered the final and fatal cut to the other. The tense look that had appeared on his face as he 
prepared to fight me softened, and his chest rose and fell rapidly. For some reason, my awareness focused on 
the scar that now marred his features, which otherwise remained unchanged from the first day I met him. It had 
been a decade since we had first met and during that time the first wrinkles had appeared on my forehead and 
the beard of manhood had sprouted on my chin. However, if it hadn't been for that scar upon Gilthanas's face, 
I might well have thought that we had met each other for the first time only moments ago.
Not only did elves live a very long time, but they did not change in appearance as they aged.
How long would a life such as mine seem to one such as he? Would it be like a moment to him? Does it 
seem as though we age and die, as he stays young?
He moved away from me, but he didn't move. Magic must be at work again.
In any case, it would be over in a moment.
"Why?" I heard Gilthanas say. He moved closer to me. For some reason, the sun no longer glinted off his 
sword.
Why? Would there be time to explain? There are those who say that the moment of a man's death lasts 
forever, but that would only be from the perspective of the dying man. I could not possibly tell Gilthanas what 
he wanted to know. For in another heartbeat, he would be gone. A killing blow had ben struck, and I felt 
certain that it was mine.

[茶白猫小修]

混沌足印（The Footprint of Chaos），28sc

在抵达流云之巅后，我完全跟丢了吉尔赛那斯的踪迹。那座山下的矮人们只知道，在他与住在峰顶的隐士一同生活的期间，有几名战士袭击了他——他们知道这件事是因为他们替他裹了伤。当我问起那条银龙时，他们说的确有这么个生物在这儿住过几年，可那是吉尔赛那斯出现之前的事了。那群矮人也不确定那条龙去向何方，尽管他们知道它去的要么是北边，要么是东边，不然就是东北边。他们对精灵说过同样的话，然后他就朝着其中的一个方向出发了。

与矮人们打的这场交道让我发现自己是多么渴望回到艾莲岛（Elian Isle）。在艾莲，人们诚恳、率直。只要你开口打听，他们就会告诉你自己心中所想；无论你需要与否，他们都会伸出援手；他们在任何事情上都诚实而富有荣誉感。而在这世界上的其他地方，每个人都在寻找一个切入点，想从你身上捞到些什么，无论他们配不配。我离开了矮人们，疑心他们究竟是真的不知道西悠瓦拉和吉尔赛那斯前往的方向，还是因为我没给他们足够的钱。

我遇到的唯一一群诚恳而率直的人是坎德人，他们在某些方面与精灵有些类似，但他们的性格与精灵截然相异。不同于安塞隆大陆的其他人，坎德人总是直接了当地告诉我他们的想法，令人耳目一新。不出我所料的是，其他所有人都鄙视他们这平易近人的作风。

与矮人们打的这场交道让我发现自己是多么思念我的同胞们。就我所知，在被挑选出来诛杀吉尔赛那斯的位阶大师中，至今幸存的仅有我一人。这副担子完全压在了我的肩上，我必须独自一人完成任务。尽管我可以编些借口打道回府，但这将是一场败退。我不能选择这么做，因为那会为我的儿女们留下污名。

过去的数周间，当我沿着一条被人类称为沥青（Pitch）的黑龙的国境边界行走时，心里想得最多的是我的孩子们。从我离开他们起到现在已经过了这么多年。他们或许早已记不得我，认不出我了，尽管那些岁月在我身上飞逝而过宛若弹指，但在此期间我的儿女们的确经历了一段人生……一段没有我参与的人生。

倘若我们相遇，他们不会认出我，而我也不会认出他们。我的妻子无疑会告诉他们我的光荣使命，但对他们而言我只不过是一个名字。他们会对这个名字怀有敬意，但他们或许再也没有机会了解自己的父亲。哪怕有幸还会重逢，我也永远无法重拾我的父亲在看着我从婴孩长大成人的过程中收获的那种喜悦了。

位阶大师们都明白，无法看着自己的儿子们长大成人是他们必须付出的代价。而在我寂寞的漫漫征程中，这代价似乎突然变得无法接受起来。自从离开艾莲后，我第一次重新怀疑起自己是否做出了正确的选择，尽管困扰我的不再是吉尔赛那斯与他那可敬的心灵。不，如今困扰我的是这样的疑惑：我在这任务上消耗的时间，是否已超过了它带来的荣誉本身的价值？

我没有进一步思考下去，因为那枚从潜行者那儿得到的魔法戒指忽然之间似乎在我指间震颤起来。我看向那块石头，发现它的颜色变了！她找到了他！我这就来试试这戒指是不是真就像她所相信的，把那石头捏在两指之间一拧就能生效。我感到一股奥术能量流过全身，四周的世界溶成了涡卷的七色海洋。我感到晕眩起来，闭上了眼睛。一瞬之间，我周围的空气从潮湿而充满了植物腐烂的浓重酸臭——因为我身在一片沼泽中心——变成了凉爽而充满了焚烧某种东西的刺鼻气味。我睁开双眼，发现周遭的世界已经再度汇聚起来，但与之前的地方截然不同。

那是一片贫瘠的棕褐色土地，与我来处的葱郁沼泽形成了鲜明的对比。就在前一刻，我头顶上方繁茂的树木还遮蔽了天穹。而如今却没有了。可是吉尔赛那斯在哪儿？产生这股焚烧植物气味的火焰又在哪儿？

我环顾四周。我正站在一处长满草的山脊上。我的左侧是一片青翠怡人的景象，一直延伸到一连串小山丘组成的地平线以外。而右侧则是一座山谷，它的形状十分怪异，像只巨大的脚一般。峡谷两侧与谷底的地面看上去就像一度经历过一场高热——就像那峡谷本身正是由一团巨大的火焰在这世界的表面上冲刷出来的一般。我所闻到的烟味似乎来自裂缝底部熊熊燃烧的火焰，因为整座峡谷满是浓烟。

但我哪儿也看不到吉尔赛那斯的影子。潜行者也没有露面，除我之外这儿没有任何活着的生物。我全然是孤身一人。为什么我会出现在这里，出现在这片荒无人烟的土地上？

我查看了这座山谷，以确认吉尔赛那斯不在浓烟滚滚的深处——尽管在探索峡谷时我感到自己并非孑然一身，但我呼唤那位精灵，又呼唤了潜行者，也没有得到任何回应。我猜想也许吉尔赛那斯已经来过这儿，并在潜行者试图抓住他时杀死了她。我能轻易地想像出这幅场景——她打算玩些花样，但吉尔赛那斯对她而言是个太灵巧也太聪明的对手，潜行者反被潜行误。

然而，由于没有发现任何暴力落到潜行者或吉尔赛那斯头上的迹象，并且也搞不清自己究竟身在何处，我在这奇怪的峡谷旁就地扎营，打算等待有谁前来给我点信息。我注意到，那块宝石恢复了它本来的颜色，也就是说那枚戒指仍有魔力，假如我最终在附近某处发现了吉尔赛那斯的话，还可以试着把潜行者叫到我这儿来。

劇透 -   :

The Footprint of Chaos, 28sc
I lost Gilthanas's trail completely after the Peak of Clouds. The dwarves living at its base knew only that 
warriors had attacked him while he had been living with a hermit who dwelt on the peak—they knew this 
because they had tended to his wounds. When I asked about a silver dragon, they reported that such a 
creature had indeed resided here for a few years, but it was before Gilthanas showed up. The dwarves couldn't 
agree on when the dragon had departed, although they knew that it had either gone north, east, or northeast. 
They had told the elf the same thing, and he had headed in one of those directions as well.
The encounter with the dwarves made me realize how badly I wanted to be back on Elian Isle. On Elian, 
people are honest and straightforward. They tell you what they think when you ask, they offer to help whether 
you need it or not, and they are all honorable and honest in all things. In the rest of the world, everyone always 
looked for an angle that they could exploit to get something from you whether they had earned it or not. I left 
the dwarves, wondering if their confusion about what direction Silvara and Gilthanas had gone in was genuine 
or because I didn't pay them enough.
The only honest and straightforward people I'd encountered were the kender, who somewhat resembled 
the elves but exhibited a completely different personality. Kender always told me exactly what they thought 
and, in contrast with the rest of the peoples of Ansalon, were very refreshing. Predictably, all others despised 
them for their unassuming ways.
The encounter with the dwarves made me realize how much I had grown to miss my people. As near as I 
could tell, I was the last surviving Master of Rank who had been charged with the slaying of Gilthanas. It was 
up to me and me alone to finish the mission. Even if I could fabricate some excuse to return home, I would be 
returning in failure. That was not an option, for it would stain the honor of my children.
For the next several weeks, as I moved along the borders of a land claimed by a black dragon known to 
men as Pitch, my children were foremost in my thoughts. So many years had passed since I left. They would 
not remember or recognize me, for although the years had flown by for me as though they were nothing, they 
added up to a lifetime for them ... a lifetime which I had not been part of.
They would not recognize me, nor I them, if we were to meet. My woman had undoubtedly told them of my 
glorious mission, but I was just a name to them. They would honor this name, but they might never get a 
chance to know their father. Even if they did, I could never reclaim the joy that I know my father derived from 
watching me grow from a baby into an adult.
Masters of Rank knew that they might need to pay the price of not seeing their sons grow up. During my 
lonely trek, this suddenly seemed like an unbearable price. For the first time since I left Elian, I again wondered 
if I had made the right choice, although the questions no longer revolved around Gilthanas and his honorable 
heart. No, now the doubts revolved around me. Had the honor of this mission cost me more years than the 
honor was worth?
I pursued these thoughts no further, for suddenly the magical ring I had received from Stalker seemed to 
vibrate on my finger. I looked at the stone and found that its color had shifted! She had found him! Now, I would 
see if the ring truly worked, as she believed that it would
I grabbed the stone between two fingers and twisted it. I felt arcane energies surging through me, and the 
world around me dissolved into a swirling sea of colors. I closed my eyes as I started to feel dizzy. Within a 
moment, the air around me went from humid and heavy with the sour smell of rotting vegetation—for I was in 
the middle of a swamp— to cool and heavy with the acrid smell of something burning. I opened my eyes and 
found that the world around me had coalesced again but hat it was completely different.
It was a barren and brown place, a stark contrast to the lush greenery of the swamp I had come from. 
Overhead, flourishing trees had obscured the dome of the sky just moments before. Now they didn't. But 
where was Gilthanas? And where was the fire that caused the smell of burning vegetation?
I scanned my surroundings. I stood on a grassy ridge. To my left was a verdant and pleasant landscape 
that retreated toward the horizon in a series of hills. To my right was a canyon incongruously shaped like a 
giant foot. Its sides and the ground around it appeared as though they had been subjected to great heat—as 
though the canyon had been scoured into the surface of the world itself by huge gouts of fire. The smoke I 
could smell appeared to be the fire burning at the bottom of the rift, for the canyon was filled with smoke.
But I could see Gilthanas nowhere. Neither was Stalker apparent, nor any other living beings. I was 
completely alone. Why had I appeared here, at this deserted place?
I inspected the canyon to make sure Gilthanas wasn't within its smoky depths—although I felt that I was not 
alone as I searched it; no one responded when I called out for the elf and Stalker. It occurred to me that 
perhaps Gilthanas had already been here and that he had slain Stalker as she attempted to capture him. I 
could easily picture that—she was playing games, but Gilthanas was too swift and intelligent for her, turning 
the stalker into the one being stalked.
But since I saw no evidence that any violence had befallen either Stalker or Gilthanas, and since I had no 
knowledge of where in the world I was, I established camp near the strange canyon and waited until someone 
arrived who could give me some information. I noticed that the gemstone had returned to its original color, 
indicating that there was yet magic in the ring, and that I could possibly try calling Stalker to my location should 
I discover Gilthanas nearby after all.

[茶白猫小修]

第二天中午时分，三只巨大的鸟儿出现在天空中。它们越飞越近，我发觉它们是某种狮子与鹰的古怪杂交，其中两匹的背上坐着骑手。我之前从未见过这种生物，但它们大致符合禁城知识库中关于狮鹫的详述。

它们正落在我起初出现的那处山脊上，我发现两位骑手都是精灵——其中之一是吉尔赛那斯，那匹华丽的坐骑着陆时，他的金发随着微风飘拂。

吉尔赛那斯从坐骑背上下来，向我挥手。我也挥手回应。他用一种我还没掌握的语言向我打招呼，而我用精灵语回答他。我在离开艾莲之前就学会了这种语言，并且近来又经常与潜行者练习。我的致意似乎让吉尔赛那斯又惊又喜，这是种既表达友谊，又同时表达了帮助对方的意愿的正式礼节。我希望能把他毫无警惕地引到近前，然后迅速出手攻击。

当他走近时，吉尔赛那斯说道：“你的奎灵纳斯提语说得真好。你是从阿班西尼亚来的吗？”

“不是的，不过我有幸学过你们的语言。”我字斟句酌地说。我要杀了吉尔赛那斯，这样我才能回到家人们身边，但我不想对他做出撒谎这样不敬的事，“我曾经有个旅伴是你的同族。我能为你做点什么吗？”

“我们听说有人在这附近看到过一条银龙，请问你见过吗？或许，你见过一位卡冈纳斯提精灵？”吉尔赛那斯细细审视着我的脸，他的双眼忽然睁大了，“索罗武？索罗武，是你？”

我微笑起来：“是的，的确是我。好久不见。”

“太久不见了！我从没想过会在这儿见到你！是什么风把你吹到了离故乡这么远的地方？”

“是你。”在他来得及做出反应之前，我就拔剑招呼过去。他往后一跃，那俊敏的反射简直让猫咪都自愧不如。我又挥出一剑，他再度避开我的挥砍，横跨一步闪开我的攻击，然后抽出自己的长剑格开了我的剑。

他的朋友出声呐喊，拔出武器，但吉尔赛那斯挥手让他退下。精灵王子向后退去，质问道：“为什么要攻击我？我们分开了那么多年，分别的时候我们还是朋友。到底发生了什么变化？”

我没有回答，再度攻上去。两剑交撞的声音响彻四野。打着打着，我们渐渐靠近了那怪异的，浓烟滚滚的峡谷，很快，一个事实浮上了水面：我们俩势均力敌——尽管他或许有数个世纪的光阴可资使用，但哪怕是精灵们也无法在战斗技能上超越位阶大师。

意识到这一点，我们同时向后退了几步。显然，这将是一场一剑定胜负的决斗，而取胜的关键与其说是技巧，不如说是运气。

我们双双放弃防御冲向对方，刺出那赌上一切的一击。阳光在他那打磨锋利的剑刃上舞蹈。我们中只有一个人能够活到下一瞬。尽管如此，这的确是一场针尖对麦芒的较量，我们剑刃相交一次，两次，然后我们双双挥出一记回旋斩，向后退开，打量着情形。

“为什么？”我听见吉尔赛那斯说。他的剑不再在阳光中闪耀。

在一名大师手中，一柄打磨锋利的剑能如此之快地杀死一个人，甚至可以令他意识不到自己的死亡，直到数个瞬间过去……直到他感到鲜血开始流落。有人说，在最后一瞬之中垂死者会重新遍历他的一生，如此往复，直至这一瞬化为永恒。这就是吉尔赛那斯即将体验的吗？

他又离我近了些，可是他看上去并没有在走。他逐渐远去，但他的双腿似乎并没有动。他的剑不再在阳光中闪耀，有什么暗色的东西沾在了剑锋上。

“为什么要攻击我？”他的脸上流露出哀伤的神色。那张脸与我第一次遇见他的那天毫无二致，除了右侧脸颊上的那道疤痕。我应当给他个答案，但他将没有时间听完它。他就要死去，而我就要回到家乡，回到家人们的身边了。

我想起了我与吉尔赛那斯初次相逢的那一天。那时我绝想不到我们会走到如今这一步。在当时，他是一切闯入我生命的事物中最为不可思议的一员……

劇透 -   :

Around noon the next day, three gigantic birds appeared in the sky. As they drew closer, I realized that they 
were some curious hybrid between lions and eagles, and that upon two of the beasts' backs were riders. I had 
never seen such creatures before, but they matched roughly the descriptions of griffins that were detailed in 
the Forbidden City's storehouses of knowledge.
As they landed on the very ridge I had first appeared on, I saw that both riders were elves—and I saw that 
one of them was Gilthanas, his golden hair flowing in the breeze as his magnificent mount came in for a 
landing.
Gilthanas dismounted and waved to me. I waved back. He called out to me in a language I had not yet 
mastered, but I responded to him in the elven tongue. I had learned it before leaving Elian and had recently 
practiced it with Stalker. Gilthanas seemed pleasantly surprised by my greeting, which was a formal one that 
denoted friendship and a willingness to assist the person to whom it was being offered. It was my hope to draw 
him near while keeping him off-guard so that I could strike quickly.
As he moved closer, Gilthanas said, "You speak Qualinesti very well. "Are you from Abanasinia?"
"No, but I have had an opportunity to learn your tongue," I said, weighing my words as I spoke. I would slay 
Gilthanas so I could return to my family, but I would not do him the dishonor of lying to him. "For a time, one of 
your race was a traveling companion of mine. How can I help you?"
"We have heard that a silver dragon has been seen around here. Have you seen one? Or a Kagonesti elf, 
perhaps?" Gilthanas's eyes suddenly widened as he examined my face. "Solov? Solov, is that you?"
I smiled. "Yes, it is indeed. It has been a long time."
"A very long time! I never thought I would see you here! What brings so far from your homeland?"
"You." Before he had a chance to react, I drew my sword and slashed. He leapt back with reflexes that 
would have put a cat to shame. I swung again, and again he avoided my blow, sidestepping my attack and 
drawinghis own sword to further deflect mine.
His friend cried out and drew his own weapon, but Gilthanas waved him back. The elf prince backed away 
and demanded, "Why are you attacking me? We parted friends those many years ago. What has changed?"
My response was to attack again. The sounds of our clashing swords rang across the countryside. As our 
battle carried us toward the strange, smoke-filled canyon, it soon became apparent that we were evenly 
matched—while he may have centuries at his disposal, not even elves could exceed the combat skills of a 
Master of Rank.
Faced with this knowledge, we stepped back. It was clear that our duel would be won by a single sword 
stroke and that victory would come through luck as much as skill.
We both dropped our guard and lunged at each other in all-out attacks. Sunlight danced along the edge of 
his well-honed sword. Only one of us would survive the next moment. Still, our skills asserted themselves and 
our blades clanged against one another once, twice, and then we both did a spinning slash, moving away from 
each other and then taking stock of the situation.
"Why?" I heard Gilthanas say. His sword no longer glinted in the sunlight.
In the hands of a master, a well-honed sword can kill a man so quickly that he doesn't realize he's dead until 
several moments later... until he feels the blood starting to trickle. It is in that final moment that some people 
say the dying one relives his life, repeatedly, so that the moment becomes an eternity. Is that what Gilthanas 
was about to experience?
He moved closer to me, yet he didn't appear to be walking. He moved farther away, but still his legs did not 
seem to move. His sword no longer shone in the sunlight. Something dark was smeared along its edge.
"Why did you attack me?" His face appeared sorrowful, the face that was unchanged from the day I had first 
met him, aside from the scar on the right side of his face. I should give him an answer, but he wouldn't have 
time to hear it. He was about to die, and I was about to go home to my family.
I remembered the day I first met Gilthanas. I never would have thought it would come to this. He was the 
most wondrous thing to have entered my life up to that point....

[茶白猫小修]

*****

“为什么？”吉尔赛那斯俯视着索罗武倒下的身躯，又问了一遍。无人应答。

这场战斗只能有一种结局，它一俟结束，回答的时机就随之过去，再不会重来。

劇透 -   :

*****
 
"Why?" Gilthanas asked again, gazing down upon the crumpled form of Solov. There would be no answer. 
The battle could have ended in only one way, and as it did, the time for answers passed and could never again 
be reclaimed.