Ⅳ 群鸦的盛宴 Chapter33 詹姆

JAIME

黄铜喇叭高奏，搅动了黄昏忧郁寂寞的空气。乔斯敏·派克顿应声而起，一边摸索主人的剑带。

The trumpets made a brazen blare, and cut the still blue air of dusk. Josmyn Peckledon was on his feet at once, scrambling for his master’s swordbelt.

这孩子有本能。“土匪是不会吹喇叭预报的，”詹姆告诉他，“无须拿剑。这一定是我表弟，新任西境守护驾到。”

The boy has good instincts. “Outlaws don’t blow trumpets to herald their arrival,” Jaime told him. “I shan’t need my sword. That will be my cousin, the Warden of the West.”

他走出帐篷时，来客已纷纷下马，包括六名骑士、四十名骑兵和马弓手。“詹姆！”一名身穿镀金锁甲与狐皮披风、胡子拉碴的男人大吼，“你瘦了，那么苍白！还蓄了胡子！”

The riders were dismounting when he emerged from his tent; half a dozen knights, and twoscore mounted archers and men-at-arms. “Jaime!” roared a shaggy man clad in gilded ringmail and a fox-fur cloak. “So gaunt, and all in white! And bearded too!”

“这点毛吗？和你相比，小巫见大巫喽，老表。”达冯爵士竖立的鬓须长满整个下巴，浓厚有如树篱，头上是一窝黄色乱发——被那顶他刚摘下来的头盔压得扁扁的。在满脸毛发中，挤出来一只狮子鼻和一对炯炯有神的淡褐色眼睛，“啧，啧，你的剃刀被土匪偷了吗？”

“This? Mere stubble, against that mane of yours, coz.” Ser Daven’s bristling beard and bushy mustache grew into sidewhiskers as thick as a hedgerow, and those into the tangled yellow thicket atop his head, matted down by the helm he was removing. Somewhere in the midst of all that hair lurked a pug nose and a pair of lively hazel eyes. “Did some outlaw steal your razor?”

“我发过毒誓，为父报仇之前，决不修面，”达冯·兰尼斯特的模样像狮子王，语气却十分随意，“但很遗憾，那少狼主先我一步干掉卡史塔克，剥夺了我复仇的权利。”他把头盔递给侍从，用手指狠狠梳理被压得不成形的头发。“结果我发现自己喜欢上了这些毛。夜里越来越冷，正如大树需要叶子，多几根毛可以保持温暖。而且吉娜姑妈说我的下巴像块砖，哈！”他双手抓住詹姆的胳膊。“呓语森林之后，我们都很为你担心，听说史塔克的冰原狼撕开了你的喉咙。”

“I vowed I would not let my hair be cut until my father was avenged.” For a man who looked so leonine, Daven Lannister sounded oddly sheepish. “The Young Wolf got to Karstark first, though. Robbed me of my vengeance.” He handed his helm to a squire and pushed his fingers through his hair where the weight of the steel had crushed it down. “I like a bit of hair. The nights grow colder, and a little foliage helps to keep your face warm. Aye, and Aunt Genna always said I had a brick for a chin.” He clasped Jaime by the arms. “We feared for you after the Whispering Wood. Heard Stark’s direwolf tore out your throat.”

“你为我大哭一场，老表？”

“Did you weep bitter tears for me, coz?”

“半个兰尼斯港都在哀悼——女人的那一半。”达冯注视着詹姆的断肢。“不过这是真的，那帮杂种要了你用剑的手。”

“Half of Lannisport was mourning. The female half.” Ser Daven’s gaze went to Jaime’s stump. “So it’s true. The bastards took your sword hand.”

“抱歉，我有了一只新手，纯金打造。其实单手有很多好处，比方说害怕打翻杯子出丑，就得少喝酒，再比如上朝时我也不大会挠痒痒抠屁股了。”

“I have a new one, made of gold. There’s much to be said for being one-handed. I drink less wine for fear of spilling and am seldom inclined to scratch my arse at court.”

“哈哈，有道理，搞不好哪天我把自己的手也切掉。”表弟大笑。“凯特琳·史塔克干的？”

“Aye, there’s that. Maybe I should have mine off as well.” His cousin laughed. “Was it Catelyn Stark who took it?”

“瓦格·霍特干的。”这些事怎么流传出去的？

“Vargo Hoat.” Where do these tales come from?

“科霍尔人？”达冯爵士啐口唾沫，“去他妈的勇士团！我告诉你父亲，我可以为他下乡征集粮秣，但他拒绝了我，坚持派佣兵。他说，有的任务适合狮子，但抢劫还是交给山羊和疯狗。”

“The Qohorik?” Ser Daven spat. “That’s for him and all his Brave Companions. I told your father I would forage for him, but he refused me. Some tasks are fit for lions, he said, but foraging is best left for goats and dogs.”

泰温公爵确实是这么说的，詹姆清楚，父亲的话声犹在耳。“进来吧，老表，我们谈谈。”

Lord Tywin’s very words, Jaime knew; he could almost hear his father’s voice. “Come inside, coz. We need to talk.”

加列特已点起火盆，燃烧的煤炭让帐内热气腾腾。达冯爵士抖开披风，扔给小个子卢。“你是派柏家的吧，孩子？”他嚷道，“长得真矮。”

Garrett had lit the braziers, and their glowing coals filled Jaime’s tent with a ruddy heat. Ser Daven shrugged out of his cloak and tossed it at Little Lew. “You a Piper, boy?” he growled. “You have a runty look to you.”

“我是林斯·派柏，愿为大人效劳。”

“I’m Lewys Piper, if it please my lord.”

“我曾在团体比武中把你老哥打得很惨。那蠢东西也是个矮子，我问在他盾牌上跳舞的裸体少女是不是他妹妹，他便勃然大怒。”

“I beat your brother bloody in a mêlée once. The runty little fool took offense when I asked him if that was his sister dancing naked on his shield.”

“那是我们家族的纹章，我和我哥没有姐妹。”

“She’s the sigil of our House. We don’t have a sister.”

“真可惜，纹章上的女人的乳头顶漂亮。男人怎么会躲在裸女后面呢？活见鬼，我每敲你老哥的盾牌一下，就觉得自己不像个堂堂正正的骑士。”

“More’s the pity. Your sigil has nice teats. What sort of man hides behind a naked woman, though? Every time I thumped your brother’s shield, I felt unchivalrous.”

“够了，”詹姆笑道，“你出去吧。”皮雅正为两位兰尼斯特温酒，并用勺子搅拌酒罐。“我需要了解确切情况。”

“Enough,” said Jaime, laughing. “Leave him be.” Pia was mulling wine for them, stirring the kettle with a spoon. “I need to know what I can expect to find at Riverrun.”

表弟耸耸肩，“无休无止的围困。黑鱼坐在城堡里面，我们坐在城堡外面。说实话，真他妈无聊。”达冯爵士拉过一张折椅坐下。“徒利认死了当缩头乌龟，连一仗都没打过。结果呢，结果佛雷家的人根本紧张不起来，净他妈添乱，比方说那个莱曼，除了喝酒啥都不干，噢，艾德温就更糟糕了，他没他老爸那么胖，肚子里却净装些坏水，活像个脓包。至于咱们的艾蒙爵士……噢，不不，该叫艾蒙老爷，七神保佑，怎么给了他这个头衔……咱们的新任奔流城伯爵每天喋喋不休地指导我如何攻城。他要我拿下城堡，但又不准伤它一根毫毛，因为这是他的领地。”

His cousin shrugged. “The siege drags on. The Blackfish sits inside the castle, we sit outside in our camps. Bloody boring, if you want the truth.” Ser Daven seated himself upon a camp stool. “Tully ought to make a sortie, to remind us all we’re still at war. Be nice if he culled some Freys too. Ryman, for a start. The man’s drunk more oft than not. Oh, and Edwyn. Not as thick as his father, but as full of hate as a boil’s full of pus. And our own Ser Emmon … no, Lord Emmon, Seven save us, must not forget his new title … our Lord of Riverrun does nought but try to tell me how to run the siege. He wants me to take the castle without damaging it, since it is now his lordly seat.”

“酒好了吗？”詹姆扭头问皮雅。

“Is that wine hot yet?” Jaime asked Pia.

“好了，大人。”女孩说话时，刻意用手掩住嘴巴。小派把酒放在镀金盘子上端来，达冯爵士摘下手套，抓起一杯，“谢谢你，孩子。你又是谁呢？”

“Yes, m’lord.” The girl covered her mouth when she spoke. Peck served the wine on a golden platter. Ser Daven pulled off his gloves and took a cup. “Thank you, boy. Who might you be?”

“乔斯敏·派克顿，愿为大人效劳。”

“Josmyn Peckledon, if it please my lord.”

“小派是黑水河上的英雄，”詹姆插嘴，“杀了两个骑士，还抓了两个。”

“Peck was a hero on the Blackwater,” Jaime said. “He slew two knights and captured two more.”

“你一定比外表看上去更危险，小子。那是胡子吗，还是你忘了洗脸？听说史坦尼斯·拜拉席恩的老婆会长胡子。你几岁了？”

“You must be more dangerous than you look, lad. Is that a beard, or did you forget to wash the dirt off your face? Stannis Baratheon’s wife has a thicker mustache. How old are you?”

“十五岁，爵士先生。”

“Fifteen, ser.”

达冯爵士喷口鼻息，“你知道什么叫英雄，詹姆？就是年纪轻轻便一命呜呼，把美女留给我们这号人的蠢货。”说罢，他将杯子扔还给侍从。“再来一杯，我就会叫你英雄了，小子。我口渴。”

Ser Daven snorted. “You know the best thing about heroes, Jaime? They all die young and leave more women for the rest of us.” He tossed the cup back to the squire. “Fill that full again, and I’ll call you hero too. I have a thirst.”

詹姆用左手举起自己的酒杯，喝了一口。一股热气顿时在胸膛扩散开来。“看来这几位佛雷令你深恶痛绝，莱曼、艾德温、艾蒙……”

Jaime lifted his own cup left-handed and took a swallow. The warmth spread through his chest. “You were speaking of the Freys you wanted dead. Ryman, Edwyn, Emmon …”

“还有瓦德·河文，”达冯说，“名副其实的婊子养的。他痛恨自己是个杂种，更恨别人不是杂种。除此之外嘛，派温爵士正常些，至少可以忍受，不过他们家的女人也都不像话。据说我得迎娶她们中的一位。顺带一提，这事儿你父亲本该跟我商量商量。我老爹在牛津过世前，替我向派克斯特·雷德温求了亲，你晓得吗？他们家的嫁妆很丰厚……”

“And Walder Rivers,” Daven said, “that whoreson. Hates that he’s a bastard, and hates everyone who’s not. Ser Perwyn seems a decent fellow, though, might as well spare him. The women too. I’m to marry one, I hear. Your father might have seen fit to consult with me about this marriage, by the bye. My own father was treating with Paxter Redwyne before Oxcross, did you know? Redwyne has a nicely dowered daughter …”

“黛丝梅拉？”詹姆笑了，“你喜欢雀斑脸哪？”

“Desmera?” Jaime laughed. “How well do you like freckles?”

“要我在佛雷和雀斑脸之间选的话，嘿嘿……瓦德大人一半的种长得都像黄鼠狼。”

“If my choice is Freys or freckles, well … half of Lord Walder’s brood look like stoats.”

“一半？乖乖，我才在戴瑞城见识过蓝赛尔的老婆。”

“Only half? Be thankful. I saw Lancel’s bride at Darry.”

“诸神在上，是‘门房’阿丽，对吧？我简直不敢相信蓝赛尔竟挑了她。那小子有毛病啊？”

“Gatehouse Ami, gods be good. I couldn’t believe that Lancel picked that one. What’s wrong with that boy?”

“他变虔诚了，”詹姆吐露，“不过挑老婆这事还真怨不了他。阿蕊丽夫人的老妈是戴瑞家的人，我叔叔认为阿丽能帮蓝赛尔稳定戴瑞领地的民心。”

“He’s grown pious,” said Jaime, “but it wasn’t him who did the picking. Lady Amerei’s mother is a Darry. Our uncle thought she’d help Lancel win the Darry smallfolk.”

“怎么稳定，靠操她吗？你知不知道她那‘门房’的外号是怎么得来的？他们说她会为每个靠近的骑士打开城门。哈，蓝赛尔应该去找武器师傅为自己打造一顶绿头盔才是。”

“How, by fucking them? You know why they call her Gatehouse Ami? She raises her portcullis for every knight who happens by. Lancel had best find an armorer to make him a horned helm.”

“不需要。咱们的老表已前往君临，宣誓为总主教服务。”

“That won’t be necessary. Our coz is off to King’s Landing to take vows as one of the High Septon’s swords.”

即便詹姆告诉他蓝赛尔要当杂耍艺人肩上的猴子，达冯爵士也不会更吃惊了。“这不是真的吧？你一定在跟我开玩笑。门房阿丽的本事哪儿那么大，居然让那小子……？”

Ser Daven could not have looked more astonished if Jaime had told him that Lancel had decided to become a mummer’s monkey. “Not truly? You are japing with me. Gatehouse Ami must be more stoatish than I’d heard if she could drive the boy to that.”

实际上，当詹姆告别阿蕊丽夫人时，她只是轻轻哭泣，眼睁睁看着蓝赛尔解除婚约，并任李勒·克雷赫安慰自己。然而教詹姆担心的并非她的眼泪，而是庭院里她亲戚们的神情。“希望你不会悔婚，老表，”他告诉达冯，“佛雷家的人把婚约看得极重，我不想再让他们失望了。”

When Jaime had taken his leave of Lady Amerei, she had been weeping softly at the dissolution of her marriage whilst letting Lyle Crakehall console her. Her tears had not troubled him half so much as the hard looks on the faces of her kin as they stood about the yard. “I hope you do not intend to take vows as well, coz,” he said to Daven. “The Freys are prickly where marriage contracts are concerned. I would hate to disappoint them again.”

达冯爵士哼了一声，“放心，我会把我的黄鼠狼娶回家，我很清楚罗柏·史塔克的下场。就艾德温透漏的情况来看，我最好是挑个还没初潮的女孩，否则迟早会发现自己在吃黑瓦德的残汤剩羹。我敢打赌，他上了门房阿丽很多次，或许这可以解释蓝赛尔的古怪行为和他父亲的反应。”

Ser Daven snorted. “I’ll wed and bed my stoat, never fear. I know what happened to Robb Stark. From what Edwyn tells me, though, I’d best pick one who hasn’t flowered yet, or I’m like to find that Black Walder has been there first. I’ll wager he’s had Gatehouse Ami, and more than thrice. Maybe that explains Lancel’s godliness, and his father’s mood.”

“你见过凯冯爵士？”

“You have seen Ser Kevan?”

“是啊。他西归途中路过大营。我邀他协力攻城，却被一口回绝。他一直闷闷不乐，不晓得想些什么，虽然面子上挺照顾大伙儿，但态度冷冰冰的。我对他发誓，我没想当这个西境守护，荣誉理应属于他，他却说自己对我没有半点意见——从他的口气里，你可听不出来。他在这里待了三天，对我说的话不超过三句。唉，他留下就好了，那样不仅我能借重他，而且我们的佛雷朋友决不敢像怠慢我一样怠慢凯冯爵士。”

“Aye. He passed here on his way west. I asked him to help us take the castle, but Kevan would have none of it. He brooded the whole time he was here. Courteous enough, but chilly. I swore to him that I never asked to be made Warden of the West, that the honor should have gone to him, and he declared that he held no grudge against me, but you would never have known it from his tone. He stayed three days and hardly said three words to me. Would that he’d remained, I could have used his counsel. Our friends of Frey would not have dared vex Ser Kevan the way that they’ve been vexing me.”

“怎么回事？”詹姆问。

“Tell me,” said Jaime.

“怎么回事，这从何说起呢？好吧，当我忙着建造撞锤和攻城塔的时候，莱曼却修了一座绞架。每天清晨，他都会把艾德慕·徒利带上去，用绳索套住脖子，威胁说除非城堡投降，否则就吊死他们的公爵。黑鱼对他的闹剧漠不关心，弄他下不了台，只能天天早上把艾德慕带上去，晚上又放下来。对了，你知道艾德慕的老婆怀孩子了吗？”

“I would, but where to begin? Whilst I’ve been building rams and siege towers, Ryman Frey has raised a gibbet. Every day at dawn he brings forth Edmure Tully, drapes a noose around his neck, and threatens to hang him unless the castle yields. The Blackfish pays his mummer’s show no mind, so come evenfall Lord Edmure is taken down again. His wife’s with child, did you know?”

啊？“难道说经历红色婚礼之后，艾德慕还有闲情雅致睡她？”

He hadn’t. “Edmure bedded her, after the Red Wedding?”

“他是在红色婚礼进行时开她苞的。萝丝琳是个可爱的小东西，半点也不像黄鼠狼，而且奇特的是，她竟真喜欢上了艾德慕。派温听见她祈祷自己生女儿。”

“He was bedding her during the Red Wedding. Roslin’s a pretty little thing, hardly stoatish at all. And fond of Edmure, queerly. Perwyn tells me she’s praying for a girl.”

詹姆思考半晌，“原来如此，若艾德慕有了儿子，瓦德大人就不需要他了。”

Jaime considered that a moment. “Once Edmure’s son is born, Lord Walder will have no more need of Edmure.”

“正是。咱们的姑丈艾蒙爵……呃，艾蒙老爷，又说错了……坚持要立即吊死艾德慕。徒利公爵存在的事实让他如鲠在喉，同样他也不希望生出另一个。他天天跑来要求我让莱曼爵士玩真的，简直不厌其烦，加文·维斯特林大人则坚决反对——他老婆被黑鱼扣在城内，外加他们家三个患儿，他害怕一旦佛雷家吊死艾德慕，徒利家就会报复到他头上。他女儿曾是少狼主的老婆呢。”

“That’s how I see it too. Our good-uncle Emm … ah, Lord Emmon, that is … he wants Edmure hanged at once. The presence of a Tully Lord of Riverrun distresses him almost as much as the prospective birth of yet another. Daily he beseeches me to make Ser Ryman dangle Tully, never mind how. Meanwhile, I have Lord Gawen Westerling tugging at my other sleeve. The Blackfish has his lady wife inside the castle, along with three of his snot-nosed whelps. His lordship fears Tully will kill them if the Freys hang Edmure. One of them is the Young Wolf’s little queen.”

詹姆见过简妮·维斯特林，但已记不得对方的长相。她一定很漂亮，因为她一人便覆灭了一个王国。“布林登·徒利决不会对孩子下手，”詹姆向表弟担保，“他外号黑鱼，心可不黑。”他开始明白为何僵持不下了。“讲讲你的部署，老表。”

Jaime had met Jeyne Westerling, he thought, though he could not recall what she looked like. She must be fair indeed, to have been worth a kingdom. “Ser Brynden won’t kill children,” he assured his cousin. “He’s not as black a fish as that.” He was beginning to grasp why Riverrun had not yet fallen. “Tell me of your dispositions, coz.”

“我军将城堡围得水泄不通。莱曼爵士率佛雷家的人马驻于腾石河北；红叉河南岸由艾蒙老爷负责，佛勒·普莱斯特爵士率你的旧部也归他节制，外加红色婚礼后倒戈的三河诸侯——我必须承认，他们中很多人并不高兴，幸好到目前为止，其反感只闷在心里；丽河之间是我的大营，直面护城河与奔流城的大门。对了，我们在红叉河上设置了拦阻堤坝，在城堡下游，由曼佛利·宇和雷那德·鲁特格尔负责，确保没人能自水路逃脱。我还准备了若干渔网，交给他们在闲暇时多捞几条鱼回来。”

“We have the castle well encircled. Ser Ryman and the Freys are north of the Tumblestone. South of Red Fork sits Lord Emmon, with Ser Forley Prester and with what remains of your old host, plus the river lords who came over to us after the Red Wedding. A sullen lot, I don’t mind saying. Good for sulking in their tents, but not much more. Mine own camp is between the rivers, facing the moat and Riverrun’s main gates. We’ve thrown a boom across the Red Fork, downstream of the castle. Manfryd Yew and Raynard Ruttiger have charge of its defense, so no one can escape by boat. I gave them nets as well, to fish. It helps keep us fed.”

“这么说，能饿降奔流城喽？”

“Can we starve the castle out?”

达冯爵士摇摇头，“黑鱼早把与防御无关的闲杂人等统统赶出城，并将城外搜刮一空。他目前储存的粮草估计能支撑整整两年。”

Ser Daven shook his head. “The Blackfish expelled all the useless mouths from Riverrun and picked this country clean. He has enough stores to keep man and horse alive for two full years.”

“那我们呢？”

“And how well are we provisioned?”

“只要河里有鱼，我们还撑得住，然则马儿怎么办，我就不知道了。佛雷家源源不断地把粮草从孪河城运来，然而莱曼爵士声称他连自己人都满足不了，要我军另想办法。我派去征集的人有一半没回来，有的当了逃兵，有的被吊死在树上。”

“So long as there are fish in the rivers, we won’t starve, though I don’t know how we’re going to feed the horses. The Freys are hauling food and fodder down from the Twins, but Ser Ryman claims he does not have enough to share, so we must forage for ourselves. Half the men I send off to look for food do not return. Some are deserting. Others we find ripening under trees, with ropes about their necks.”

“我前天见过这场面。”詹姆说。是亚当·马尔布兰的斥候发现的，一棵硕大的苹果树上，吊满脸色发黑的尸体。他们都没穿衣服，各人嘴里咬一个苹果。无人带伤，显然事先都投降了，结果却像尖叫的猪一样死去。见此状况，壮猪勃然大怒，发下毒誓要歼灭这帮侮辱士兵的匪徒。

“We came on some, the day before last,” said Jaime. Addam Marbrand’s scouts had found them, hanging black-faced beneath a crabapple tree. The corpses had been stripped naked, and each man had a crabapple shoved between his teeth. None bore any wounds; plainly, they had yielded. Strongboar had grown furious at that, vowing bloody vengeance on the heads of any men who would truss up warriors to die like suckling pigs.

“或许是土匪干的，”詹姆把话说完后，达冯猜测，“或许不是。北军的小股残余仍在四处游荡，而且依我看，河间地这帮领主即便弯下了膝盖，他们内心里……还是向着狼的。”

“It might have been outlaws,” Ser Daven said, when Jaime told the tale, “or not. There are still bands of northmen about. And these Lords of the Trident may have bent their knees, but methinks their hearts are still … wolfish.”

詹姆瞥瞥自己的两名小侍从，他俩围在火盆边，假装没听见。林斯·派柏与加列特·培吉都是三河诸侯的子嗣，他喜欢上了他们，如果有一天不得不把他们交给伊林爵士，他会很难过的。“绞绳听起来是唐德利恩的主意。”

Jaime glanced at his two younger squires, who were hovering near the braziers pretending not to listen. Lewys Piper and Garrett Paege were both the sons of river lords. He had grown fond of both of them and would hate to have to give them to Ser Ilyn. “The ropes suggest Dondarrion to me.”

“闪电大王并非唯一会扎绳子的人，我也不想只盯住贝里伯爵。流言纷飞，他一会儿在这里，一会儿在那里，到处都有他的踪影，但每每派军围剿，他的队伍又像露水般融化。三河诸侯在暗中协助他，这毫无疑问，真令人难以置信，他们居然协助一个该死的边疆的伯爵！前一天你听说他死了，第二天传来的消息却称他是不死之身。”达冯爵士放下酒杯。“我的斥候报告说河间地各处高地夜晚会有火光，多半是信号……这帮家伙简直把我军给反包围了。村庄内夜里也在烧火，似乎用来表达对某位新神的崇拜……”

“Your lightning lord’s not the only man who knows how to tie a noose. Don’t get me started on Lord Beric. He’s here, he’s there, he’s everywhere, but when you send men after him, he melts away like dew. The river lords are helping him, never doubt it. A bloody marcher lord, if you can believe it. One day you hear the man is dead, the next they’re saying how he can’t be killed.” Ser Daven put his wine cup down. “My scouts report fires in the high places at night. Signal fires, they think … as if there were a ring of watchers all around us. And there are fires in the villages as well. Some new god …”

并非什么新神。“索罗斯追随唐德利恩，就那个以前常跟劳勃对饮的密尔胖和尚。”金手放在桌上，詹姆伸手碰了碰它，看着黄金反射阴暗的火光。“情非得已时，我们可以发动大扫荡，把唐德利恩揪出来，但首先得解决黑鱼。必须让他搞清楚，他的事业已经失败。你没和他谈判吗？”

No, an old one. “Thoros is with Dondarrion, the fat Myrish priest who used to drink with Robert.” His golden hand was on the table. Jaime touched it and watched the gold glimmer in the sullen light of the braziers. “We’ll deal with Dondarrion if we have to, but the Blackfish must come first. He has to know his cause is hopeless. Have you tried to treat with him?”

“莱曼爵士自告奋勇去谈过。他喝得半醉，骑到城门前，大声叫嚣威胁。黑鱼往城垛上站了站，但不愿在这么个蠢人身上浪费时间，他一箭射中莱曼胯下战马的屁股，马儿把佛雷甩在泥地里，笑得我喘不过气，连尿都快笑出来了。哈哈，我在城上的话，一定会射穿莱曼那只懂得撒谎的喉咙。”

“Ser Ryman did. Rode up to the castle gates half-drunk and blustering, making threats. The Blackfish appeared on the ramparts long enough to say that he would not waste fair words on foul men. Then he put an arrow in the rump of Ryman’s palfrey. The horse reared, Frey fell into the mud, and I laughed so hard I almost pissed myself. If it had been me inside the castle, I would have put that arrow through Ryman’s lying throat.”

“看来去谈判时我得戴上护喉甲了，”詹姆似笑非笑地道，“我准备提出优厚条件。”倘若他能不流血地夺取奔流城，便算不上拿起武器反对徒利家族。

“I’ll wear a gorget when I treat with them,” said Jaime, with a half smile. “I mean to offer him generous terms.” If he could end this siege without bloodshed, then it could not be said that he had taken up arms against House Tully.

“你尽可以去试，大人，但我认为只是浪费口水。我们别无选择，唯有强攻。”

“You are welcome to try, my lord, but I doubt that words will win the day. We need to storm the castle.”

从前，或者说不久之前，詹姆会毫不迟疑地赞同表弟的办法。毕竟，他不可能坐等两年，以便把黑鱼饿出来。“无论怎么做，都得立刻动手，”他告诉达冯爵士，“我需要尽快返回君临，回到国王身边。”

There had been a time, not so long ago, when Jaime would doubtless have urged the same course. He knew he could not sit here for two years to starve the Blackfish out. “Whatever we do needs to be done quickly,” he told Ser Daven. “My place is back at King’s Landing, with the king.”

“是，”表弟道，“我知道你姐姐需要你。她怎么把凯冯赶走了？我一直以为她会任命他当首相。”

“Aye,” his cousin said. “I don’t doubt your sister needs you. Why did she send off Kevan? I thought she’d make him Hand.”

“他不肯接受。”他不像我，他不是瞎子。

“He would not take it.” He was not as blind as I was.

“论资格，凯冯或者你才该担任西境守护。我提醒你，这并非说我不喜欢这份荣誉，但表叔的年龄有我两倍大，指挥经验也远远比我丰富。我希望他弄清楚我从未争夺过这份荣誉。”

“Kevan should be the Warden of the West. Or you. It’s not that I’m not grateful for the honor, mind you, but our uncle’s twice my age and has more experience of command. I hope he knows I never asked for this.”

“他很清楚。”

“He knows.”

“瑟曦怎么样？还像以前那么标致吗？”

“How is Cersei? As beautiful as ever?”

“她美丽动人，”反复无常，“金光灿灿，”然而虚伪。昨晚他梦见姐姐跟月童做爱，于是便宰了弄臣，还用金手把姐姐的牙齿打成碎片，就像格雷果·克里冈对可怜的皮雅干的那样。在梦中，詹姆总是有两只手，其中一只虽是金制的，但运用自如。“早一天解决奔流城，我便能早一天回到瑟曦身边。”到时候该怎么做，詹姆便一点头绪也没有了。

“Radiant.” Fickle. “Golden.” False as fool’s gold. Last night he dreamed he’d found her fucking Moon Boy. He’d killed the fool and smashed his sister’s teeth to splinters with his golden hand, just as Gregor Clegane had done to poor Pia. In his dreams Jaime always had two hands; one was made of gold, but it worked just like the other. “The sooner we are done with Riverrun, the sooner I’ll be back at Cersei’s side.” What Jaime would do then he did not know.

在西境守护告辞之前，他们又谈了一个钟头。谈完后，詹姆戴上金手，披挂褐色披风，前去视察营地。

He talked with his cousin for another hour before the Warden of the West finally took his leave. When he was gone, Jaime donned his gold hand and brown cloak to walk amongst the tents.

说实话，这才是他喜欢的生活。在沙场上，走在士兵中间，比待在宫中舒服多了。部下都很爱戴他。一堆营火前，三名十字弓兵邀他共享逮住的野兔，一名年轻骑士则请他指导如何防御战锤攻击。他沿河向下游漫步，看见两个洗衣妇骑在两个大兵肩上，于浅滩上比武。那两个女孩喝得半醉，衣裳不整，嘻嘻哈哈笑着去抓对方凌乱的衣服，而其他十几个士兵围着加油助威。詹姆为甜嘴拉夫背上的金发女子下注一个铜星，结果这对组合颠覆在芦苇丛中，使他输了钱。

If truth be told, he liked this life. He felt more comfortable amongst soldiers in the field than he ever had at court. And his men seemed comfortable with him as well. At one cookfire three crossbowmen offered him a share of a hare they’d caught. At another a young knight asked his counsel on the best way to defend against a warhammer. Down beside the river, he watched two washerwomen jousting in the shallows, mounted on the shoulders of a pair of men-at-arms. The girls were half-drunk and half-naked, laughing and snapping rolled-up cloaks at one another as a dozen other men urged them on. Jaime bet a copper star on the blond girl riding Raff the Sweetling, and lost it when the two of them went down splashing amongst the reeds.

河对面，狼群仍在嗥叫，凛冽的秋风穿过柳树丛，枝条翻腾，低语沉吟。詹姆发现伊林·派恩爵士独坐在帐篷外，拿油石磨剑。“来。”他说，沉默的骑士便站起来随他走，脸上挂着淡淡的微笑。他享受这样的时刻，詹姆意识到，每天晚上都能羞辱我，他感到很满意，甚至比杀了我更满意。詹姆相信自己正在提高，然而进度过于缓慢，代价十分高昂。在铁甲、羊毛外套与皮甲下面，詹姆·兰尼斯特的肌肤就是一面由创口、割痕与淤伤拼成的织锦。

Across the river wolves were howling, and the wind was gusting through a stand of willows, making their branches writhe and whisper. Jaime found Ser Ilyn Payne alone outside his tent, honing his greatsword with a whetstone. “Come,” he said, and the silent knight rose, smiling thinly. He enjoys this, he realized. It pleases him to humiliate me nightly. It might please him even more to kill me. He liked to believe that he was getting better, but the improvement was slow and not without cost. Underneath his steel and wool and boiled leather Jaime Lannister was a tapestry of cuts and scabs and bruises.

他们牵马离开营地时，哨兵上来盘问，詹姆用金手拍了拍对方的肩膀，“好好站着，外面有狼。”接着两人沿红叉河骑到一个被烧毁的村落，他们下午曾于此路过。就在这里，两人进行日常的午夜比剑，周围是烧焦的石头和冷硬的灰烬。有一段时间，詹姆竟然占到上风，似乎从前的技艺又统统回来了——他允许自己这么想，或许今天该轮到派恩遍体鳞伤地回去睡觉。

A sentry challenged them as they led their horses from the camp. Jaime clapped the man’s shoulder with his golden hand. “Stay vigilant. There are wolves about.” They rode back along the Red Fork to the ruins of a burned village they had passed that afternoon. It was there they danced their midnight dance, amongst blackened stones and old cold cinders. For a little while Jaime had the better of it. Perhaps his old skill was coming back, he allowed himself to think. Perhaps tonight it would be Payne who went to sleep bruised and bloody.

伊林爵士似乎读到了他的想法。他懒洋洋地挡下詹姆的攻击，随即迅猛反击，把詹姆驱赶进河里，使他的鞋子陷进了湿泥。于是须臾之间，詹姆便已双膝跪地，剑被打飞，沉默的骑士则用剑抵住他咽喉。月光照耀下，派恩脸上的麻子活像一个个坑，他又发出那种似乎是嘲笑的粗嘎声音，把剑往上抬，一直抬到詹姆的嘴唇。最后才退开一步，收剑回鞘。

It was as if Ser Ilyn heard his thoughts. He parried Jaime’s last cut lazily and launched a counterattack that drove Jaime back into the river, where his boot slipped out from under him in the mud. He ended on his knees, with the silent knight’s sword at his throat and his own lost in the reeds. In the moonlight the pockmarks on Payne’s face were large as craters. He made that clacking sound that might have been a laugh and drew his sword up Jaime’s throat till the point came to rest between his lips. Only then did he step back and sheathe his steel.

我倒不如背个婊子，去跟甜嘴拉夫比武，詹姆一边把金手上的泥巴抖掉，一边想。他心里有股冲动，直想把这只没用的手扯下来，狠狠地扔进河里，丢个无影无踪。但这没用，也不可能让左手变强。伊林爵士走回马儿旁边，留他一个人找鞋子。妈的，至少我不是瘸子。

I would have done better to challenge Raff the Sweetling, with a whore upon my back, Jaime thought as he shook mud off his gilded hand. Part of him wanted to tear the thing off and fling it in the river. It was good for nothing, and the left was not much better. Ser Ilyn had gone back to the horses, leaving him to find his own feet. At least I still have two of those.

最后一天的路程阴冷多风，秋风一刻不停地刮，光秃秃的褐色树林里枝桠婆娑，红叉河边的芦苇被压弯了腰。即便穿着御林铁卫那套白羊毛的冬季服装，詹姆仍能感觉到寒风冰冷的利齿。表弟达冯爵士骑在他身旁，一直走到太阳快落山，方才看见位于腾石城注入红叉河的三角洲尖端的奔流城。徒利的家堡犹如滔滔江水中披波斩浪的巨型石船，砂岩墙垒沐浴着金红阳光，似乎比以往更高大更厚实了。固若金汤，他郁闷地想，但若黑鱼不肯谈判，他又只能打破对凯特琳·史塔克的誓言——无论如何，他对国王的誓言在先。

The last day of their journey was cold and gusty. The wind rattled amongst the branches in the bare brown woods and made the river reeds bow low along the Red Fork. Even mantled in the winter wool of the Kingsguard, Jaime could feel the iron teeth of that wind as he rode beside his cousin Daven. It was late afternoon when they sighted Riverrun, rising from the narrow point where the Tumblestone joined the Red Fork. The Tully castle looked like a great stone ship with its prow pointed downriver. Its sandstone walls were drenched in red-gold light, and seemed higher and thicker than Jaime had remembered. This nut will not crack easily, he thought gloomily. If the Blackfish would not listen, he would have no choice but to break the vow he’d made to Catelyn Stark. The vow he’d sworn his king came first.

拦江堤坝和围城大军的三座营寨正如表弟描绘的那样。莱曼·佛雷位于腾石河北岸的营地规模最大，然而也最混乱。营区之上高耸着一座灰色绞架，像投石机那么高，一个孤独的人影站在下面，脖子套着绳索。艾德慕·徒利，詹姆忽然觉得很悲哀，让他日复一日、套着绳索站在那里……倒不如砍头来得干净。

The boom across the river and the three great camps of the besieging army were just as his cousin had described. Ser Ryman Frey’s encampment north of the Tumblestone was the largest, and the most disorderly. A great grey gallows loomed above the tents, as tall as any trebuchet. On it stood a solitary figure with a rope about his neck. Edmure Tully. Jaime felt a stab of pity. To keep him standing there day after day, with that noose around his neck … better to have his head off and be done with it.

然而绞架之下，帐篷与营火是如此无序，四散蔓延，佛雷家人和他们麾下的骑士把自己的营帐舒舒服服地搭在便池上游，下游则尽是污秽不堪的小帐篷、马车和牛车。“莱曼爵士不忍心教自己的兵过无聊的军旅生活，因此特意准备了营妓、斗鸡和野猪游戏，”达冯爵士解说道，“他甚至为自己找了个该死的歌手。你相信吗？就因为咱们的姑妈把‘白色微笑’渥特从兰尼斯港带来，他便要攀比一番。咱能不能放水淹死这帮佛雷啊，老表？”

Behind the gallows, tents and cookfires spread out in ragged disarray. The Frey lordlings and their knights had raised their pavilions comfortably upstream of the latrine trenches; downstream were muddy hovels, wayns, and oxcarts. “Ser Ryman don’t want his boys getting bored, so he gives them whores and cockfights and boar baiting,” Ser Daven said. “He’s even got himself a bloody singer. Our aunt brought Whitesmile Wat from Lannisport, if you can believe it, so Ryman had to have a singer too. Couldn’t we just dam the river and drown the whole lot of them, coz?”

詹姆看见城齿间有弓箭手来来回回，徒利家的旗帜迎风飘扬，银色鳟鱼毫无惧色地腾跃在红蓝条纹之上。然而在最高的塔楼，却飘扬着另一面旗——长长的白色横幅绣史塔克的冰原奔狼。“我头一次来奔流城时，还嫩得像夏天的青草，”詹姆告诉表弟，“老萨姆纳·克雷赫差我去送信，他说这封信关系重大，不能信托乌鸦。信送到后，霍斯特大人以仔细回复的名义拖拉了半个月，每次用餐，都让他女儿莱莎坐到我身旁。”

Jaime could see archers moving behind the merlons on the castle ramparts. Above them streamed the banners of House Tully, the silver trout defiant on its striped field of red and blue. But the highest tower flew a different flag; a long white standard emblazoned with the direwolf of Stark. “The first time I saw Riverrun, I was a squire green as summer grass,” Jaime told his cousin. “Old Sumner Crakehall sent me to deliver a message, one he swore could not be entrusted to a raven. Lord Hoster kept me for a fortnight whilst mulling his reply, and sat me beside his daughter Lysa at every meal.”