你打听得太多了，老海盗。走私者要像了解海潮一样了解形色人士，否则便无法生存，遑论将买卖做大。目前，后党人士也许仍狂热崇拜着光之王，但龙石岛的下层民众又渐渐回归自幼熟悉的信仰。他们说史坦尼斯中了妖术迷惑，被梅莉珊卓引诱而背离七神，朝拜阴影中的恶魔，而且……最可耻的是……她和她的神祗在关键时刻舍弃了他。某些骑士和领主也感同身受。戴佛斯将他们一一发掘出来，就像从前选择船员般谨慎挑拣。杰拉德·高尔爵士在黑水河上顽强战斗，但之后，有人听他说，拉赫洛定是个软弱的真主，任由他的追随者被侏儒与死人追杀；安德鲁·伊斯蒙爵士乃国王的表亲，多年前还曾担任他的侍从；夜歌堡的私生子当初指挥后卫部队，使得史坦尼斯安全撤到萨拉多·桑恩的船上，但他崇拜战士的程度就跟他的勇猛相当。他们组成了王党，不属于后党。但炫耀他们没什么好处。

You hear too much, you old pirate. A smuggler had best know men as well as tides, or he would not live to smuggle long. The queen’s men might remain fervent followers of the Lord of Light, but the lesser folk of Dragonstone were drifting back to the gods they’d known all their lives. They said Stannis was ensorceled, that Melisandre had turned him away from the Seven to bow before some demon out of shadow, and … worst sin of all … that she and her god had failed him. And there were knights and lordlings who felt the same. Davos had sought them out, choosing them with the same care with which he’d once picked his crews. Ser Gerald Gower fought stoutly on the Blackwater, but afterward had been heard to say that R’hllor must be a feeble god to let his followers be chased off by a dwarf and a dead man. Ser Andrew Estermont was the king’s cousin, and had served as his squire years ago. The Bastard of Nightsong had commanded the rearguard that allowed Stannis to reach the safety of Salladhor Saan’s galleys, but he worshiped the Warrior with a faith as fierce as he was. King’s men, not queen’s men. But it would not do to boast of them.

“某个里斯海盗曾告诉过我，好的走私者懂得躲在人们视线之外，”戴佛斯小心翼翼地回答，“黑帆，蒙布桨叶，外加管住舌头的水手。”

“A certain Lysene pirate once told me that a good smuggler stays out of sight,” Davos replied carefully. “Black sails, muffled oars, and a crew that knows how to hold their tongues.”

里斯人闻言哈哈大笑。“没舌头的水手更好。高大强壮、不会读写的哑巴最讨人喜欢。”他很快平静下来。“我很高兴有人替你提防着后背，老朋友。你认为国王会把那男孩交给红袍女吗？一头小小的龙就能结束这场浩劫？”

The Lyseni laughed. “A crew with no tongues is even better. Big strong mutes who cannot read or write.” But then he grew more somber. “But I am glad to know that someone watches your back, old friend. Will the king give the boy to the red priestess, do you think? One little dragon could end this great big war.”

老习惯使得他的手伸向幸运符，但指骨已不在脖子上，他什么也没找着。“不会的，”戴佛斯说，“他不会伤害自己的血亲。”

Old habit made him reach for his luck, but his fingerbones no longer hung about his neck, and he found nothing. “He will not do it,” said Davos. “He could not harm his own blood.”

“蓝礼公爵听到这话一定很开心。”

“Lord Renly will be glad to hear this.”

“蓝礼起兵反叛，而艾德瑞克·风暴是无辜孩童，没有任何罪过。陛下是个公正的人。”

“Renly was a traitor in arms. Edric Storm is innocent of any crime. His Grace is a just man.”

萨拉耸耸肩，“我们会看到的——或者说你会。我呢？我要回海上去。此时此刻，那帮不法之徒或许正想偷渡黑水湾，以逃避合法的税收和检查呐。”他在戴佛斯背上重重拍了一把。“保重，你和你的哑巴朋友们。你现在成了重要人物，然而爬得越高，跌得越重。”

Salla shrugged. “We shall be seeing. Or you shall. For myself, I am returning to sea. Even now, rascally smugglers may be sailing across the Blackwater Bay, hoping to avoid paying their lord’s lawful duties.” He slapped Davos on the back. “Take care. You with your mute friends. You are grown so very great now, yet the higher a man climbs the farther he has to fall.”

戴佛斯一边思考这番话，一边登上海龙塔的阶梯，去鸦巢下学士的房间。他无须萨拉提醒也知道自己上升得实在太快太高。我不识读写，出身为诸侯们不齿，对于统治之道更一窍不通，怎能做御前首相呢？我属于舰船的甲板，不属于城堡的塔楼。

Davos reflected on those words as he climbed the steps of Sea Dragon Tower to the maester’s chambers below the rookery. He did not need Salla to tell him that he had risen too high. I cannot read, I cannot write, the lords despise me, I know nothing of ruling, how can I be the King’s Hand? I belong on the deck of a ship, not in a castle tower.

他曾对派洛斯学士这么讲。“您是个优秀的船长，”学士回答，“船长统治着他的船，不是吗？他必须征服难以捉摸的流水，扬起帆布捕捉风向，随时提防天象变换，并在风暴来临时顶住侵袭。治理王国与此是一个道理。”

He had said as much to Maester Pylos. “You are a notable captain,” the maester replied. “A captain rules his ship, does he not? He must navigate treacherous waters, set his sails to catch the rising wind, know when a storm is coming and how best to weather it. This is much the same.”

派洛斯的保证是好意，但他听来觉得十分空洞。“根本不一样！”戴佛斯反驳，“王国并不等于一艘船……其实这是件好事，否则我们的王国将会沉下去。我了解木头、绳索和海水，这没错，但对大局有何助益？我上哪儿去找一阵劲风，把史坦尼斯国王吹上宝座？”

Pylos meant it kindly, but his assurances rang hollow. “It is not at all the same!” Davos had protested. “A kingdom’s not a ship … and a good thing, or this kingdom would be sinking. I know wood and rope and water, yes, but how will that serve me now? Where do I find the wind to blow King Stannis to his throne?”

对此，学士报以大笑。“您说得对，大人。言语好比是风，而您用您的洞察力吹动了我。我很明白国王陛下需要您什么。”

The maester laughed at that. “And there you have it, my lord. Words are wind, you know, and you’ve blown mine away with your good sense. His Grace knows what he has in you, I think.”

“洋葱，”戴佛斯阴郁地道，“我只能提供这个。国王之手该是位出身高贵的领主，贤明博学，指挥若定，富有骑士精神……”

“Onions,” said Davos glumly. “That is what he has in me. The King’s Hand should be a highborn lord, someone wise and learned, a battle commander or a great knight …”

“莱安·雷德温爵士是他那时代最伟大的骑士，却也是有史以来最糟糕的首相之一。墨密森修士的祈祷能带来奇迹，但当上首相以后，很快便让全国上下祈祷他的死亡。巴特威尔伯爵以智慧著称，米尔斯·斯莫伍德以勇气见长，奥托·海塔尔爵士以博学闻名，然而作为首相，他们统统很失败。至于出身，更没有关系，龙王们习惯在族内选择首相，血统应该很尊贵了吧？结果既能产生‘破矛者’贝勒，也出现了‘残酷的’梅葛。与之相对的是巴斯修士，‘人瑞王’从红堡图书馆中拔擢的铁匠之子，他带给全境四十年的和平与富足。”派洛斯微笑。“读读历史，戴佛斯大人，您就会明白自己的怀疑毫无根据。”

“Ser Ryam Redwyne was the greatest knight of his day, and one of the worst Hands ever to serve a king. Septon Murmison’s prayers worked miracles, but as Hand he soon had the whole realm praying for his death. Lord Butterwell was renowned for wit, Myles Smallwood for courage, Ser Otto Hightower for learning, yet they failed as Hands, every one. As for birth, the dragonkings oft chose Hands from amongst their own blood, with results as various as Baelor Breakspear and Maegor the Cruel. Against this, you have Septon Barth, the blacksmith’s son the Old King plucked from the Red Keep’s library, who gave the realm forty years of peace and plenty.” Pylos smiled. “Read your history, Lord Davos, and you will see that your doubts are groundless.”

“我不识字，怎么读历史？”

“How can I read history, when I cannot read?”

“任何人都能识字，我的好大人，”派洛斯学士道，“不需魔法，也不需高贵的出身。来，我正遵照国王的命令教您儿子这门学问，您也来一起参加吧。”

“Any man can read, my lord,” said Maester Pylos. “There is no magic needed, nor high birth. I am teaching the art to your son, at the king’s command. Let me teach you as well.”

这是个友好的提议，戴佛斯无法拒绝。因此他每天都去海龙塔顶上学士的房间，面对大批卷轴、羊皮纸和皮革典籍皱眉头，试图从中参详出几个词来。努力让他头痛，感觉自己跟边上的“补丁脸”一样愚蠢。儿子戴冯还不满十二岁，却远远领先于父亲，至于希琳公主和艾德瑞克·风暴，阅读就跟呼吸一样自然。在读书方面，戴佛斯比他们中任何一个都更像孩子，然而他坚持不懈。作为御前首相，阅读是必须掌握的技能。

It was a kindly offer, and not one that Davos could refuse. And so every day he repaired to the maester’s chambers high atop Sea Dragon Tower, to frown over scrolls and parchments and great leather tomes and try to puzzle out a few more words. His efforts often gave him headaches, and made him feel as big a fool as Patchface besides. His son Devan was not yet twelve, yet he was well ahead of his father, and for Princess Shireen and Edric Storm reading seemed as natural as breathing. When it came to books, Davos was more a child than any of them. Yet he persisted. He was the King’s Hand now, and a King’s Hand should read.

克礼森学士摔断大腿后，海龙塔狭窄盘旋的楼梯对他而言就成了痛苦的折磨。戴佛斯发现自己仍在想念那位老人，想必史坦尼斯也是如此。派洛斯固然聪明、勤勉、善良，但太年轻，国王无法像信赖克礼森那般信赖他。老人在史坦尼斯身边随侍多年……直到与梅莉珊卓发生矛盾，并因此而死。

The narrow twisting steps of Sea Dragon Tower had been a sore trial to Maester Cressen after he broke his hip. Davos still found himself missing the old man. He thought Stannis must as well. Pylos seemed clever and diligent and well-meaning, but he was so young, and the king did not confide in him as he had in Cressen. The old man had been with Stannis so long … Until he ran afoul of Melisandre, and died for it.

未到楼梯顶端，戴佛斯便听见一阵轻微的铃声，只可能来自于“补丁脸”。公主的弄臣等在学士门外，活像条忠实的猎犬。他的身体面团似地软绵绵，塌着肩膀，宽脸上布满红绿相间的格子，戴一顶老旧锡桶做的玩具头盔，顶端绑了两根鹿角，十来只牛铃挂在上面，人一动就叮当作响……也就是说从不停止，因为这傻子很少有站着不动的时候，走到哪里，就把叮叮当当的刺耳铃声带到哪里，难怪派洛斯给希琳上课时要将他赶出去。“海底下，老鱼吃小鱼，”小丑喃喃地对戴佛斯说。他晃晃脑袋，铃铛又叮叮当当地响起来，“噢，我知道，我知道，噢噢噢！”

At the top of the steps Davos heard a soft jingle of bells that could only herald Patchface. The princess’s fool was waiting outside the maester’s door for her like a faithful hound. Dough-soft and slump-shouldered, his broad face tattooed in a motley pattern of red and green squares, Patchface wore a helm made of a rack of deer antlers strapped to a tin bucket. A dozen bells hung from the tines and rang when he moved … which meant constantly, since the fool seldom stood still. He jingled and jangled his way everywhere he went; small wonder that Pylos had exiled him from Shireen’s lessons. “Under the sea the old fish eat the young fish,” the fool muttered at Davos. He bobbed his head, and his bells clanged and chimed and sang. “I know, I know, oh oh oh.”

“在这里，小鱼教老鱼。”戴佛斯道，当他坐下来读书时，从没感觉过的苍老感油然而生。若教他的是老克礼森学士，情况也许不一样，可惜派洛斯年轻得可以做他儿子。

“Up here the young fish teach the old fish,” said Davos, who never felt so ancient as when he sat down to try and read. It might have been different if aged Master Cressen had been the one teaching him, but Pylos was young enough to be his son.

此刻学士正坐在长木桌一方，面对着三个孩子，而桌上铺满书籍卷轴。希琳公主坐在两个男孩中间，直到如今，戴佛斯看见自己的骨肉与公主和国王的私生子为伴，仍觉得很是骄傲。将来，戴冯将会成为一方诸侯，而不仅是骑士。叱咤风云的雨林伯爵。戴佛斯对此抱持的欢欣远甚于自己拥有这一头衔。他识字，能读会写，天生就是当贵族的料，派洛斯常表扬他的勤奋，而教头对戴冯在长剑和枪矛上的技巧也多有赞颂，而且他还是个虔敬真主的好孩子。“别担心，我的哥哥们已经升入光明神殿，坐在真主的身旁。”当父亲将四位兄长的死讯带给他时，戴冯如是说，“我将在夜火边为他们祈祷，也为您祈祷，父亲，好让您奉承真主明光照耀，直到生命的尽头。”

He found the maester seated at his long wooden table covered with books and scrolls, across from the three children. Princess Shireen sat between the two boys. Even now Davos could take great pleasure in the sight of his own blood keeping company with a princess and a king’s bastard. Devan will be a lord now, not merely a knight. The Lord of the Rainwood. Davos took more pride in that than in wearing the title himself. He reads too. He reads and he writes, as if he had been born to it. Pylos had naught but praise for his diligence, and the master-at-arms said Devan was showing promise with sword and lance as well. And he is a godly lad, too. “My brothers have ascended to the Hall of Light, to sit beside the Lord,” Devan had said when his father told him how his four elder brothers had died. “I will pray for them at the nightfires, and for you as well, Father, so you might walk in the Light of the Lord till the end of your days.”

“早上好，父亲。”儿子向他问候。他看来跟戴尔在这个年纪时几无二致，戴佛斯心想。固然，他的长子从没穿过戴冯这身华美的侍从服饰，但他们有着同样普通的方脸，同样直率的褐色眼睛，同样稀疏飘逸的棕发。戴冯的脸颊和下巴覆着一层金色毛茬，比桃子茸毛差不了多少，然而那孩子对自己的“胡须”极为自豪。正如从前的戴尔。戴冯是桌边三个孩子中最年长的。

“Good morrow to you, Father,” the boy greeted him. He looks so much like Dale did at his age, Davos thought. His eldest had never dressed so fine as Devan in his squire’s raiment, to be sure, but they shared the same square plain face, the same forthright brown eyes, the same thin brown flyaway hair. Devan’s cheeks and chin were dusted with blond hair, a fuzz that would have shamed a proper peach, though the boy was fiercely proud of his “beard.” Just as Dale was proud of his, once. Devan was the oldest of the three children at the table.

然而艾德瑞克·风暴要高出三寸，胸膛和肩膀也更为宽厚，就这点而言，他的确是他父亲的儿子；他也没有一天早上会错过剑盾练习。有些年纪较大，见过少年劳勃和少年蓝礼的人说，这个私生子男孩的容貌比史坦尼斯更像他们——漆黑的头发，深蓝色眼睛，还有嘴、下巴和颧骨的形状。只有他的耳朵提醒你：他母亲是佛罗伦家的人。

Yet Edric Storm was three inches taller and broader in the chest and shoulders. He was his father’s son in that; nor did he ever miss a morning’s work with sword and shield. Those old enough to have known Robert and Renly as children said that the bastard boy had more of their look than Stannis had ever shared; the coal-black hair, the deep blue eyes, the mouth, the jaw, the cheekbones. Only his ears reminded you that his mother had been a Florent.

“嗯，早上好，大人。”艾德瑞克跟着说。这孩子的天性或许跟父亲一样暴躁而骄傲，但抚养他长大的学士、代理城主和教头们将他调教得十分谦恭。“您是从我叔叔那儿来的吗？国王陛下都好吗？”

“Yes, good morrow, my lord,” Edric echoed. The boy could be fierce and proud, but the maesters and castellans and masters-at-arms who’d raised him had schooled him well in courtesy. “Do you come from my uncle? How fares His Grace?”

“很好。”戴佛斯撒谎。说实话，国王看起来憔悴枯槁，但他没必要让孩子背上负担，“希望我没有打扰你们上课。”

“Well,” Davos lied. If truth be told, the king had a haggard, haunted look about him, but he saw no need to burden the boy with his fears. “I hope I have not disturbed your lesson.”

“我们刚刚结束，大人。”派洛斯学士说。

“We had just finished, my lord,” Maester Pylos said.

“我们在读戴伦一世国王的故事。”希琳公主是个惹人怜爱、温柔而甜美的孩子，只可惜脸蛋并不漂亮。史坦尼斯给了她方下巴，赛丽丝给了她佛洛伦家的招风耳，而善于作弄世人的残酷诸神则让她在摇篮里便感染了灰鳞病，带给她最大的不幸。疾病虽未夺走生命和视力，却让她一侧脸颊和半边脖子的皮肤全部僵硬坏死，表面干裂，夹杂着黑灰斑点。“他发动战争，征服了多恩领，被尊为‘少龙主’。”

“We were reading about King Daeron the First.” Princess Shireen was a sad, sweet, gentle child, far from pretty. Stannis had given her his square jaw and Selyse her Florent ears, and the gods in their cruel wisdom had seen fit to compound her homeliness by afflicting her with greyscale in the cradle. The disease had left one cheek and half her neck grey and cracked and hard, though it had spared both her life and her sight. “He went to war and conquered Dorne. The Young Dragon, they called him.”

“他敬拜伪神，”戴冯说，“但除此之外，是个伟大的国王，在战斗中英勇无畏。”

“He worshiped false gods,” said Devan, “but he was a great king otherwise, and very brave in battle.”

“是的，”艾德瑞克赞同，“但我父亲更勇敢，少龙主从未在一天里赢得三场战斗的胜利。”

“He was,” agreed Edric Storm, “but my father was braver. The Young Dragon never won three battles in a day.”

公主瞪大眼睛看着他，“劳勃伯伯在一天里赢得三场战斗的胜利？”

The princess looked at him wide-eyed. “Did Uncle Robert win three battles in a day?”

私生子点点头，“那是他回家召集封臣的时候。格兰德森伯爵，卡伏伦伯爵和费尔伯爵计划在盛夏厅会合，然后朝风息堡进发，但消息被一位线人通报给了父亲，于是他立刻带上所有骑士和侍从兼程出发，在敌军来到盛夏厅之前，予以分别打击，逐个击破。他单打独斗杀死费尔伯爵，并俘虏其子‘银斧’。”

The bastard nodded. “It was when he’d first come home to call his banners. Lords Grandison, Cafferen, and Fell planned to join their strength at Summerhall and march on Storm’s End, but he learned their plans from an informer and rode at once with all his knights and squires. As the plotters came up on Summerhall one by one, he defeated each of them in turn before they could join up with the others. He slew Lord Fell in single combat and captured his son Silveraxe.”

戴冯望向派洛斯，“是这样吗？”

Devan looked to Pylos. “Is that how it happened?”

“我正在说呢，不是吗？”艾德瑞克抢在学士回答之前道，“他把三方敌人全部击溃，并用战斗中的英勇表现，征服了格兰德森伯爵、卡伏伦伯爵和‘银斧’。没人打败过我父亲。”

“I said so, didn’t I?” Edric Storm said before the maester could reply. “He smashed all three of them, and fought so bravely that Lord Grandison and Lord Cafferen became his men afterward, and Silveraxe too. No one ever beat my father.”

“艾德瑞克，你不该过分夸耀，”派洛斯学士说，“劳勃国王跟其他人一样吃过败仗。提利尔公爵就在杨树滩战胜了他，而他也在长枪比武中输过许多次。”

“Edric, you ought not boast,” Maester Pylos said. “King Robert suffered defeats like any other man. Lord Tyrell bested him at Ashford, and he lost many a tourney tilt as well.”

“然而他打胜仗的次数比失败多得多，还在三叉戟河杀了雷加王子。”

“He won more than he lost, though. And he killed Prince Rhaegar on the Trident.”

“没错，是这样，”学士赞同，“但我现在必须关照戴佛斯大人，您瞧，他一直耐心地等待着。明天我们继续读戴伦国王的《多恩征服记》吧。”

“That he did,” the maester agreed. “But now I must give my attention to Lord Davos, who has waited so patiently. We will read more of King Daeron’s Conquest of Dorne on the morrow.”

希琳公主和两个男孩礼貌地道别？当他们离开后，派洛斯走近戴佛斯身边。“大人，您愿不愿读读《多恩征服记》呢？”他将那本薄薄的皮革书从桌面上推过来。“戴伦国王的文笔简洁优雅，而他的历史充满流血、战争和勇气，您儿子相当入迷。”

Princess Shireen and the boys said their farewells courteously. When they had taken their leaves, Maester Pylos moved closer to Davos. “My lord, perhaps you would like to try a bit of Conquest of Dorne as well?” He slid the slender leather-bound book across the table. “King Daeron wrote with an elegant simplicity, and his history is rich with blood, battle, and bravery. Your son is quite engrossed.”

“我儿子才不满十二岁，而我是国王之手。方便的话，还是给我看信吧。”

“My son is not quite twelve. I am the King’s Hand. Give me another letter, if you would.”

“遵命，大人。”派洛斯学士在桌上翻找，展开卷卷羊皮纸，接着又将它们扔开。“没有新的信件，也许一封旧的……”

“As you wish, my lord.” Maester Pylos rummaged about his table, unrolling and then discarding various scraps of parchment. “There are no new letters. Perhaps an old one …”

戴佛斯跟任何人一样喜欢享受好故事，但他觉得史坦尼斯任命自己为首相不是为了享受。他的首要任务是协助国王统治，为此必须理解乌鸦带来的文字。他发现，学习东西最好的方法就是实践，不论航船或读写，道理都一样。

Davos enjoyed a good story as well as any man, but Stannis had not named him Hand for his enjoyment, he felt. His first duty was to help his king rule, and for that he must needs understand the words the ravens brought. The best way to learn a thing was to do it, he had found; sails or scrolls, it made no matter.

“这个也许适合我们。”派洛斯递给他一封信。

“This might serve our purpose.” Pylos passed him a letter.

戴佛斯抚平皱巴巴的羊皮纸，眯眼查看细小潦草的字体。阅读很费眼睛，这点他早有体会，有时不禁疑惑地猜测，学城对于能将字体写小的学士，是否会给予相当于比武冠军的赏金呢？派洛斯对此想法抱以大笑，可是……

Davos flattened down the little square of crinkled parchment and squinted at the tiny crabbed letters. Reading was hard on the eyes, that much he had learned early. Sometimes he wondered if the Citadel offered a champion’s purse to the maester who wrote the smallest hand. Pylos had laughed at the notion, but …

“给……五位国王，”戴佛斯念道，读到‘五位’时略微犹豫了一下，因为这个词不是经常出现在纸上。“……王……之王，哦，前面是，赛……赛马？”

“To the … five kings,” read Davos, hesitating briefly over five, which he did not often see written out. “The king … be … the king … beware?”

“塞外。”学士纠正。

“Beyond,” the maester corrected.

戴佛斯显出痛苦的表情，“塞外之王……南……南下？率领一支……一支……区大……”

Davos grimaced. “The King beyond the Wall comes … comes south. He leads a … a … fast …”

“巨大。”

“Vast.”

“……一支巨大的……野……野人军团。莫……莫而……莫尔蒙总司令送出一只……乌鸦，从归……贵……”

“… a vast host of wil … wild … wildlings. Lord M … Mmmor … Mormont sent a … raven from the … ha … ha …”

“鬼影。鬼影森林。”派洛斯用指尖在这个词下面着重划了一下。

“Haunted. The haunted forest.” Pylos underlined the words with the point of his finger.

“……鬼影森林。他……遭到……攻击？”

“… the haunted forest. He is … under a … attack?”

“对。”

“Yes.”

他很满意，继续费力地读下去。“吼……后来其他信鸦纷纷回来，但没有信。我们……担心……莫尔蒙与所由……所有……地熊……不，不，弟兄全被杀死了。我们担心莫尔蒙与所有弟兄全被杀死了……”戴佛斯突然意识到自己在读什么。他把信翻过来，看到黑色的封蜡。“这信来自于守夜人军团，师傅，史坦尼斯国王有没有看过？”

Pleased, he plowed onward. “Oth … other birds have come since, with no words. We … fear … Mormont slain with all … with all his … stench … no, strength. We fear Mormont slain with all his strength …” Davos suddenly realized just what he was reading. He turned the letter over, and saw that the wax that had sealed it had been black. “This is from the Night’s Watch. Maester, has King Stannis seen this letter?”

“最初收到信，我把它呈给了艾利斯特大人，当时他是御前首相。我相信他跟王后讨论过，但当我询问如何回复时，他告诉我别犯傻。‘陛下打自己的仗尚且人手不够，怎么可能在野人身上浪费精力？’”

“I brought it to Lord Alester when it first arrived. He was the Hand then. I believed he discussed it with the queen. When I asked him if he wished to send a reply, he told me not to be a fool. ‘His Grace lacks the men to fight his own battles, he has none to waste on wildlings,’ he said to me.”

那是事实。而且这五位国王的说法一定会激怒史坦尼斯。“快饿死的人才会向乞丐讨饭。”他喃喃道。

That was true enough. And this talk of five kings would certainly have angered Stannis. “Only a starving man begs bread from a beggar,” he muttered.

“抱歉，您说什么，大人？”

“Pardon, my lord?”

“我妻子讲过的一句俗话。”戴佛斯边回答边用短手指敲打桌面。第一次见到长城时，他比戴冯还小，在卵石猫号的罗洛·乌霍瑞斯手下干活，这泰洛西人狭海内外呼为“瞎眼杂种”，但其实既非盲人也不是私生子。罗洛驶过斯卡格斯岛，深入颤栗海，造访上百个从未有商船到达的小海湾，带去铁器，包括剑、斧、头盔和精良锁甲等，用以交换毛皮、象牙、琥珀和黑曜石。卵石猫号返航时，货仓塞得满满的，但在海豹湾内被三艘黑色战舰追逐，勒令到东海望靠岸。结果船只丢了货物，而“瞎眼杂种”掉了脑袋，罪名是卖武器给野人。

“Something my wife said once.” Davos drummed his shortened fingers against the tabletop. The first time he had seen the Wall he had been younger than Devan, serving aboard the Cobblecat under Roro Uhoris, a Tyroshi known up and down the narrow sea as the Blind Bastard, though he was neither blind nor baseborn. Roro had sailed past Skagos into the Shivering Sea, visiting a hundred little coves that had never seen a trading ship before. He brought steel; swords, axes, helms, good chainmail hauberks, to trade for furs, ivory, amber, and obsidian. When the Cobblecat turned back south her holds were stuffed, but in the Bay of Seals three black galleys came out to herd her into Eastwatch. They lost their cargo and the Bastard lost his head, for the crime of trading weapons to the wildlings.

后来戴佛斯自己干起走私行当，期间也曾去东海望做买卖。黑衣弟兄是很难应付的对手，却也可以做很好的顾客，只要船上货物对路。但他收取钱财时，从没忘记“瞎眼杂种”的头颅在卵石猫号甲板上滚动的景象。“少年时代，我见过一些野人，”他告诉派洛斯学士，“他们对偷盗很在行，却不会讨价还价。其中一位带着我们船舱里一个女孩逃了。总而言之，他们看起来跟其他人种也差不多，有的漂亮，有的丑陋。”

Davos had traded at Eastwatch in his smuggling days. The black brothers made hard enemies but good customers, for a ship with the right cargo. But while he might have taken their coin, he had never forgotten how the Blind Bastard’s head had rolled across the Cobblecat’s deck. “I met some wildlings when I was a boy,” he told Maester Pylos. “They were fair thieves but bad hagglers. One made off with our cabin girl. All in all, they seemed men like any other men, some fair, some foul.”

“人就是人，”派洛斯赞同，“我们继续读信吗，首相大人？”

“Men are men,” Maester Pylos agreed. “Shall we return to our reading, my lord Hand?”

是的，我是御前首相，我有我的责任。唉……史坦尼斯也许名义上是维斯特洛七大王国的君主，但实际只称得上那张绘彩桌案的国王。他控制着龙石岛和风息堡，此外还有跟萨拉多·桑恩那永远提心吊胆的联盟，仅此而已。守夜人怎么会寻求他的帮助？他们不知道他有多弱小，他的道路多么迷惘。“史坦尼斯国王没见过这封信，你确定？梅莉珊卓也没见过？”

I am the Hand of the King, yes. Stannis might be the King of Westeros in name, but in truth he was the King of the Painted Table. He held Dragonstone and Storm’s End, and had an ever-more-uneasy alliance with Salladhor Saan, but that was all. How could the Watch have looked to him for help? They may not know how weak he is, how lost his cause. “King Stannis never saw this letter, you are quite certain? Nor Melisandre?”

“都没见过。我要不要带给他们看？即使过了这么久？”

“No. Should I bring it to them? Even now?”

“不用了，”戴佛斯立刻道，“你将它带给艾利斯特大人已经尽了职。”如果梅莉珊卓知道这封信……会怎么说呢？那凡人不可道也的远古异神正在聚集力量，戴佛斯·席渥斯，冷风已然吹起，很快到来的将是永不终结的长夜……而史坦尼斯也在火焰里看到奇异景象，雪地中的一圈火炬，周围尽是恐怖的怪物。

“No,” Davos said at once. “You did your duty when you brought it to Lord Alester.” If Melisandre knew of this letter … What was it she had said? One whose name may not be spoken is marshaling his power, Davos Seaworth. Soon comes the cold, and the night that never ends … And Stannis had seen a vision in the flames, a ring of torches in the snow with terror all around.

“大人，您不舒服？”派洛斯问。

“My lord, are you unwell?” asked Pylos.

我很害怕，师傅，他或许该这么直说。戴佛斯记起萨拉多·桑恩告诉他的一个故事，亚梭尔·亚亥为给“光明使者”淬火，将它刺入爱妻的心房。他为与黑暗抗争而杀害自己的妻子，如果史坦尼斯真是亚梭尔·亚亥再生，是否意味着艾德瑞克·风暴得扮演妮莎·妮莎的角色？“我刚才在思考，学士。抱歉。”算了，某个野人王征服了北境，对我们又有什么害处呢？反正北境又不是史坦尼斯的地盘，而且史坦尼斯也不大可能去保护那些拒绝承认他为王的人。“给我另一封信，”他唐突地说，“这封实在……”

I am frightened, Maester, he might have said. Davos was remembering a tale Salladhor Saan had told him, of how Azor Ahai tempered Lightbringer by thrusting it through the heart of the wife he loved. He slew his wife to fight the dark. If Stannis is Azor Ahai come again, does that mean Edric Storm must play the part of Nissa Nissa? “I was thinking, Maester. My pardons.” What harm if some wildling king conquers the north? It was not as though Stannis held the north. His Grace could scarcely be expected to defend people who refused to acknowledge him as king. “Give me another letter,” he said abruptly. “This one is too …”

“……困难？”派洛斯提示。

“… difficult?” suggested Pylos.

冷风已然吹起，梅莉珊卓在低语，永不终结的长夜。“令人不安，”戴佛斯说，“实在……令人不安。请给我另一封信。”

Soon comes the cold, whispered Melisandre, and the night that never ends. “Troubling,” said Davos. “Too … troubling. A different letter, please.”