Chapter 第四十八章 詹姆

JAIME

鸦树城历史悠久。古老砖石的缝隙中长满了厚厚的苔藓，城墙上密布的蜘蛛网就像是干瘪的老妇人腿上的血管。城堡正门的两侧耸立着两座巨大的塔楼，几座小塔楼则守护着城墙的每个拐角。所有塔楼都是正方形。圆形突出于外墙的鼓楼和半月形突出于城墙的塔楼更有利于防御投石机的攻击，因为弧形能更有效的反射飞石，但是显然鸦树城比建筑师积累起这条特殊智慧的年代更为久远。

Raventree Hall was old. Moss grew thick between its ancient stones, spiderwebbing up its walls like the veins in a crone’s legs. Two huge towers flanked the castle’s main gate, and smaller ones defended every angle of its walls. All were square. Drum towers and half-moons held up better against catapults, since thrown stones were more apt to deflect off a curved wall, but Raventree predated that particular bit of builder’s wisdom.

城堡高耸于宽广肥沃的谷地间，地图和当地居民都把它叫做黑林谷。它确实毫无疑问是块谷地，但是数千年来已经没有过一棵树木在此生长，无论它是黑色，棕色，还是绿色。也许曾经有过，是的，但此刻早已砍斫殆尽。一座座民房，磨坊和城堡在这曾经长满橡树的土地上拔地而起， 荒凉而泥泞的地面被一堆堆正在消融的积雪弄得斑驳不堪。

The castle dominated the broad fertile valley that maps and men alike called Blackwood Vale. A vale it was, beyond a doubt, but no wood had grown here for several thousand years, be it black or brown or green. Once, yes, but axes had long since cleared the trees away. Homes and mills and holdfasts had risen where once the oaks stood tall. The ground was bare and muddy, and dotted here and there with drifts of melting snow.

然而在城墙里面，还保留有一片小小的树林。布莱克伍德家族守护着旧神，像安达尔人来到维斯特洛大陆之前的先民一样敬仰旧神。他们的神木林中，有些树木据说和鸦树城的方形城塔一样古老。尤其是心树，巨大的鱼梁木树枝像瘦骨嶙峋的手指一般伸向天空，最上方的枝条甚至在几里格以外都能看见。

Inside the castle walls, however, a bit of the forest still remained. House Blackwood kept the old gods, and worshiped as the First Men had in the days before the Andals came to Westeros. Some of the trees in their godswood were said to be as old as Raventree’s square towers, especially the heart tree, a weirwood of colossal size whose upper branches could be seen from leagues away, like bony fingers scratching at the sky.

詹姆和他的卫队逶迤前行，穿过连绵起伏的丘陵进入谷地，曾经环绕鸦树城的土地、农场和果园已经消亡殆尽——只剩下泥土和灰烬，以及四处散落的烧焦的房屋和磨坊的断壁残垣。废墟上生长着野草、荆棘和荨麻，除了这些以外，连一点庄稼都没有。路边时而出现一撇而过的尸骨，哪怕是在这些尸骨上，詹姆都能感觉到父亲那双曾经无情扫过这片土地的巨手无处不在。尸骨中的多数是绵羊骨头，但是也有马的、牛的，以及不时出现的人头骨，或者肋骨中已经长出野草的无头骨架。

As Jaime Lannister and his escort wound through the rolling hills into the vale, little remained of the fields and farms and orchards that had once surrounded Raventree—only mud and ashes, and here and there the blackened shells of homes and mills. Weeds and thorns and nettles grew in that wasteland, but nothing that could be called a crop. Everywhere Jaime looked he saw his father’s hand, even in the bones they sometimes glimpsed beside the road. Most were sheep bones, but there were horses too, and cattle, and now and again a human skull, or a headless skeleton with weeds poking up through its rib cage.

和前一段奔流城的情况相比，鸦树城并没有受到强有力的包围。这次围攻显得更像是家庭事务，而上一次发生此类事件可以追溯到好几百年之前。裘诺斯？布雷肯在城堡周围最多只有五百人，而且詹姆没看见攻击塔楼、投石机和弓弩。看来布雷肯并无攻破鸦树城大门或者冲击高墙的打算，眼看这座城堡没有被救援的希望，他满足的期待着把敌人饿死在里面。毫无疑问，在围困的初期这里有过突围和小规模的战斗，双方箭来箭往，但是半年过去，每个人都为这种毫无意义的行为感到疲倦。取而代之的只有厌倦和单调的例行公事，而这些正是维持军纪的天敌。

No great hosts encircled Raventree, as Riverrun had been encircled. This siege was a more intimate affair, the latest step in a dance that went back many centuries. At best Jonos Bracken had five hundred men about the castle. Jaime saw no siege towers, no battering rams, no catapults. Bracken did not mean to break the gates of Raventree nor storm its high, thick walls. With no prospect of relief in sight, he was content to starve his rival out. No doubt there had been sorties and skirmishes at the start of the siege, and arrows flying back and forth; half a year into it, everyone was too tired for such nonsense. Boredom and routine had taken over, the enemies of discipline.

一切都已结束，詹姆心想。随着奔流城安稳地落入兰尼斯特手中，鸦树城就成了少狼主那短命王国最后的领土。一旦它投降，詹姆在三河流域的差事就结束了，然后他就可以回到君临。回到国王身边，他对自己说，但是身体里另一部分自己轻声低语，回到瑟曦身边。

Past time this was ended, thought Jaime Lannister. With Riverrun now safely in Lannister hands, Raventree was the remnant of the Young Wolf’s short-lived kingdom. Once it yielded, his work along the Trident would be done, and he would be free to return to King’s Landing. To the king, he told himself, but another part of him whispered, to Cersei.

他必须得面对她，他想。姑且认为当他回去的时候她还没有死在大主教手里。“立刻回来吧，”她在信中写道，那封他在奔流城让小派烧掉的信。“帮助我。拯救我。我比任何时候都更需要你。我爱你，我爱你，我爱你。立刻回来吧。”她确实需要他，詹姆毫不怀疑。至于其他的……就我所知，她和蓝赛尔、奥斯蒙？凯特布莱克，甚至，月童上床……然而即使他赶回去了，他也不指望救得了她。她确实犯下了他们指控的每一项叛国罪，而他少了握剑的那只手。

He would have to face her, he supposed. Assuming the High Septon had not put her to death by the time he got back to the city. “Come at once,” she had written, in the letter he’d had Peck burn at Riverrun. “Help me. Save me. I need you now as I have never needed you before. I love you. I love you. I love you. Come at once.” Her need was real enough, Jaime did not doubt. As for the rest … she’s been fucking Lancel and Osmund Kettleblack and Moon Boy for all I know … Even if he had gone back, he could not hope to save her. She was guilty of every treason laid against her, and he was short a sword hand.

詹姆的卫队快步行进穿过田间，对方哨兵看着他们的眼神里，好奇多过恐惧。非常配合詹姆的是，并没有人发出警报。布雷肯伯爵的帐篷并不难找，因为那是营地里最大并且位置最好的一个，坐落于小溪边一块平缓丘陵的顶部，对鸦树城的两座大门有着非常清晰的视野。

When the column came trotting from the fields, the sentries stared at them with more curiosity than fear. No one sounded the alarm, which suited Jaime well enough. Lord Bracken’s pavilion did not prove difficult to find. It was the largest in the camp, and the best sited; sitting atop a low rise beside a stream, it commanded a clear view of two of Raventree’s gates.

帐篷是棕色的，中心旗杆上飘扬着同样棕底的布雷肯家族的金盾红色骏马旗帜。詹姆命令下马，并且告诉他的兵如果愿意的话可以跟布雷肯的士兵套套近乎。“除了你们俩，”他对他的旗手说，“在这呆着，我不会进去很长时间。”詹姆跳下“荣誉”，大步迈进布雷肯的帐篷，腰上的配剑在剑鞘里发出金属碰撞的声响。

The tent was brown, like the standard flapping from its center pole, where the red stallion of House Bracken reared upon its gold escutcheon. Jaime gave the order to dismount and told his men that they might mingle if they liked. “Not you two,” he said to his banner-bearers. “Stay close. This will not keep me long.” Jaime vaulted down off Honor and strode to Bracken’s tent, his sword rattling in its scabbard.

看到他靠近，帐篷外的守卫们忧心忡忡的交换了一下眼神。“大人，”其中一个说道，“需要为您通报吗？”

The guards outside the tent flap exchanged an anxious look at his approach. “My lord,” said one. “Shall we announce you?”

“我自己通报。”詹姆用金手掀开帐篷门帘，低头走了进去。

“I’ll announce myself.” Jaime pushed aside the flap with his golden hand and ducked inside.

当他进去的时候，他们正干得很专注。专注到两人谁都没注意到他的到来。女人紧闭双眼，双手揪住布雷肯背后粗糙的棕色毛发。每次他进入她，她都发出重重的喘息。伯爵大人将头埋在她的双乳间，双手环绕着她的臀部。詹姆清了清嗓子，“裘诺斯伯爵。” 詹姆清了清嗓子，“裘诺斯伯爵。”

They were well and truly at it when he entered, so intent on their rutting that neither took any note of his arrival. The woman had her eyes closed. Her hands clutched the coarse brown hair on Bracken’s back. She gasped every time he drove into her. His lordship’s head was buried in her breasts, his hands locked around her hips. Jaime cleared his throat. “Lord Jonos.”

女人迅速睁开双眼，发出一声受惊的尖叫。裘诺斯？布雷肯从她身上滚了下来，伸手去抓剑鞘，结果只抓到了金属的剑刃。“他妈的七层地狱，”他大声咒骂，“谁敢——”当他看见詹姆的白袍金甲，手里的剑跌落在地，“兰尼斯特？”

The woman’s eyes flew open, and she gave a startled shriek. Jonos Bracken rolled off her, grabbed for his scabbard, and came up with naked steel in hand, cursing. “Seven bloody hells,” he started, “who dares—” Then he saw Jaime’s white cloak and golden breastplate. His swordpoint dropped. “Lannister?”

“非常抱歉坏了你的好事，大人。”詹姆微微笑了笑，“不过我有点急事，我们能聊聊吗？”

“I am sorry to disturb you at your pleasure, my lord,” said Jaime, with a half-smile, “but I am in some haste. May we talk?”

“聊聊……可以。”裘诺斯伯爵还剑入鞘。他没有詹姆那么高，但是块头更大，宽厚的肩膀和粗壮的手臂会让铁匠都感到嫉妒。棕色的胡茬爬满了他的面颊和下巴。眼睛也是棕色的，里面透出隐藏不住的怒气。“你让我措手不及，大人。我可没接到您要过来的通知。”

“Talk. Aye.” Lord Jonos sheathed his sword. He was not quite so tall as Jaime, but he was heavier, with thick shoulders and arms that would have made a blacksmith envious. Brown stubble covered his cheeks and chin. His eyes were brown as well, the anger in them poorly hidden. “You took me unawares, my lord. I was not told of your coming.”

“我似乎也坏了你的好事。”詹姆对床上的女人笑了笑。她用一只手护住左胸，另一只手挡在两腿之间，于是右胸便赤裸在外。她的乳头比瑟曦的颜色要深，而且个头大三倍。她感觉到詹姆的注视，立刻伸手遮住右胸，结果又把她的三角地露了出来。“所有营妓都是这么害羞吗？”他问道。“如果有人想卖芜菁，最好把它们摆出来。”

“And I seem to have prevented yours.” Jaime smiled at the woman in the bed. She had one hand over her left breast and the other between her legs, which left her right breast exposed. Her nipples were darker than Cersei’s and thrice the size. When she felt Jaime’s gaze she covered her right nipple, but that revealed her mound. “Are all camp followers so modest?” he wondered. “If a man wants to sell his turnips, he needs to set them out.”

“从你进来起就在盯着我的芜菁看了，爵士。”女人找到一张毯子，把它拉起来盖到自己腰部，然后伸出一只手拨开遮住眼睛的长发，“而且它们并不出售。”

“You been looking at my turnips since you came in, ser.” The woman found the blanket and pulled it up high enough to cover herself to the waist, then raised one hand to push her hair back from her eyes. “And they’re not for sale, neither.”

詹姆耸耸肩，“如果对您的身份有什么误解，我表示抱歉。我敢肯定我弟弟上过一百个妓女，但是我只上过一个。”

Jaime gave a shrug. “My apologies if I mistook you for something you’re not. My little brother has known a hundred whores, I’m sure, but I’ve only ever bedded one.”

“她是个战利品。”布雷肯从地上捡起他的马裤抖了抖，“本属于布莱克伍德家的一个效忠骑士，直到我把他的脑袋砍成了两半。把手放下，女人。兰尼斯特大人想好好看看你的乳头。”

“She’s a prize of war.” Bracken retrieved his breeches from the floor and shook them out. “She belonged to one of Blackwood’s sworn swords till I split his head in two. Put your hands down, woman. My lord of Lannister wants a proper look at those teats.”

詹姆对此置若罔闻，“你把裤子穿反了，大人。”他对布雷肯说。当裘诺斯大声咒骂的时候，女人滑下床，捡回她散乱的到处都是的衣服。当她弯腰、转身和伸手拾捡的时候，手指紧张地在双乳和私处间抖动。她努力地把身体遮起来，却比直接赤裸着跑出去更显出一种古怪地刺激。“你叫什么名字，女人？”詹姆问她。你叫什么名字，女人？”詹姆问她。

Jaime ignored that. “You are putting those breeches on backwards, my lord,” he told Bracken. As Jonos cursed, the woman slipped off the bed to snatch up her scattered clothing, her fingers fluttering nervously between her breasts and cleft as she bent and turned and reached. Her efforts to conceal herself were oddly provocative, far more so than if she’d simply gone about the business naked. “Do you have a name, woman?” he asked her.

“我妈叫我希尔蒂，爵士。”她把一件脏裙子从头上套了进去，再从领口甩出长发。她的脸和脚一样脏，双腿间毛发茂盛，使她看起来像是布雷肯的妹妹。即便如此，她仍然有着吸引人的地方，塌鼻子、浓密的头发……和她穿上裙子之后微微屈膝行礼的样子。“您看见我的另一只鞋了吗，大人？”

“My mother named me Hildy, ser.” She pulled a soiled shift down over her head and shook her hair out. Her face was almost as dirty as her feet and she had enough hair between her legs to pass for Bracken’s sister, but there was something appealing about her all the same. That pug nose, her shaggy mane of hair … or the way she did a little curtsy after she had stepped into her skirt. “Have you seen my other shoe, m’lord?”

这问题看起来惹恼了布雷肯伯爵，“我是你该死的女仆吗，给你拿鞋子？要走就光着脚出去。快出去。”

The question seemed to vex Lord Bracken. “Am I a bloody handmaid, to fetch you shoes? Go barefoot if you must. Just go.”

“就是说伯爵大人不打算带我回家跟他的小妻子一起祈祷了？”希尔蒂笑着，没脸没皮地看着詹姆，“您也有个小妻子吗，爵士？”

“Does that mean m’lord won’t be taking me home with him, to pray with his little wife?” Laughing, Hildy gave Jaime a brazen look. “Do you have a little wife, ser?”

不，我倒是有个姐姐。“你看我的袍子是什么颜色？”

No, I have a sister. “What color is my cloak?”

“白色，”她说，“不过你的手是金的，我就喜欢这样的男人。您喜欢什么样的女人，大人？”

“White,” she said, “but your hand is solid gold. I like that in a man. And what is it you like in a woman, m’lord?”

“纯真的。”

“Innocence.”

“我是说女人，不是女儿。”

“In a woman, I said. Not a daughter.”

他想起了弥塞菈。我也得告诉她。不过多恩人可能会不高兴。毕竟道朗马泰尔当她是劳勃的血脉，才给她和自己的儿子订了婚。真是一团乱麻，詹姆想，希望自己能干净利落地一剑砍断这些乱七八糟的玩意儿。“我发过誓。”他不耐烦地对希尔蒂说。

He thought of Myrcella. I will need to tell her too. The Dornishmen might not like that. Doran Martell had betrothed her to his son in the belief that she was Robert’s blood. Knots and tangles, Jaime thought, wishing he could cut through all of it with one swift stroke of his sword. “I have sworn a vow,” he told Hildy wearily.

“那芜菁就不卖给你了。”女孩儿傲慢地说。

“No turnips for you, then,” the girl said, saucily.

“滚！”裘诺斯伯爵朝她吼道。

“Get out,” Lord Jonos roared at her.

她出去了。但是当她溜过詹姆身边，抓起一只鞋和一堆衣服的时候，俯身隔着马裤捏了一下他的老二。“希尔蒂，”她提醒他，然后半裸着冲出了帐篷。

She did. But as she slipped past Jaime, clutching one shoe and a pile of her clothes, she reached down and gave his cock a squeeze through his breeches. “Hildy,” she reminded him, before she darted half-clothed from the tent.

希尔蒂，詹姆若有所思。“你怎么打发你的伯爵夫人？”女孩消失之后他问裘诺斯伯爵。

Hildy, Jaime mused. “And how fares your lady wife?” he asked Lord Jonos when the girl was gone.

“我怎么知道？问她的主教去吧。当你父亲烧掉我们城堡的时候，她就认为是诸神在惩罚我们，现在她的生活只剩下祈祷。”裘诺斯终于把他的马裤找对了方向，然后从前面系好。“您到此有何贵干，大人？为了黑鱼吗？我们听说了他是怎么逃跑的。”

“How would I know? Ask her septon. When your father burned our castle, she decided the gods were punishing us. Now all she does is pray.” Jonos had finally gotten his breeches turned the right way round and was lacing them up the front. “What brings you here, my lord? The Blackfish? We heard how he escaped.”

“是听说吗？”詹姆找了张凳子坐下来，“恐怕是从他本人那里吧？”

“Did you?” Jaime settled on a camp stool. “From the man himself, perchance?”

“布林登爵士还没傻到跑来找我。我喜欢那个人，这点我不否认，但如果他胆敢出现在我或者我的人眼前，我会毫不犹豫的将锁链拷到他的手腕脚腕上。何况他知道我已经向你们投降。他本来也应该这么干，但他哥哥肯定告诉过你，这家伙向来倔得很。”

“Ser Brynden knows better than to come running to me. I am fond of the man, I won’t deny that. That won’t stop me clapping him in chains if he shows his face near me or mine. He knows I’ve bent the knee. He should have done the same, but he always was a stubborn one. His brother could have told you that.”

“泰陀斯？布莱克伍德可还没投降呢，”詹姆提醒他，“黑鱼有可能向鸦树城寻求庇护吗？”

“Tytos Blackwood has not bent the knee,” Jaime pointed out. “Might the Blackfish seek refuge at Raventree?”

“他也许会，但他会发现这样做必须先得穿过我的包围圈，而我还没听说他长了翅膀。在此之前，泰陀斯先得把他自己庇护好。他们已经在靠老鼠和树根过活了，下次满月之前就会投降。”

“He might seek it, but to find it he’d need to get past my siege lines, and last I heard he hadn’t grown wings. Tytos will be needing refuge himself before much longer. They’re down to rats and roots in there. He’ll yield before the next full moon.”

“他日落之前就会投降。我打算和他签个条约，然后接受他回归国王的和平。”

“He’ll yield before the sun goes down. I mean to offer him terms and accept him back into the king’s peace.”

“我明白了。”裘诺斯伯爵套上一件棕色羊毛外套，正面绣着布雷肯家族的红色种马家徽。“我的大人需要喝上一杯麦芽酒吗？”

“I see.” Lord Jonos shrugged into a brown woolen tunic with the red stallion of Bracken embroidered on the front. “Will my lord take a horn of ale?”

“不。但是你也别把我的腰包喝干了。”

“No, but don’t go dry on my account.”

布雷肯给自己倒满了一角杯，喝掉一半，然后擦了擦嘴。“您刚才说条约，什么样的条约？”

Bracken filled a horn for himself, drank half of it, and wiped his mouth. “You spoke of terms. What sort of terms?”

“常见的那种。布莱克伍德伯爵必须承认他的叛国，放弃对史塔克家族和徒利家族的效忠。必须在诸神和人们面前庄严地发誓，从今以后是赫伦堡和铁王座的忠臣，这样我就会以国王之名赦免他的罪。当然，我们也会要求一些黄金，作为背叛的代价。我还会索要一名人质，以确保鸦树城不会再次反叛。”

“The usual sort. Lord Blackwood shall be required to confess his treason and abjure his allegiance to the Starks and Tullys. He will swear solemnly before gods and men to henceforth remain a leal vassal of Harrenhal and the Iron Throne, and I will give him pardon in the king’s name. We will take a pot or two of gold, of course. The price of rebellion. I’ll claim a hostage as well, to ensure that Raventree does not rise again.”

“他女儿，”布雷肯建议，“布莱克伍德有六个儿子，但是只有一个女儿，他非常宠爱这个拖着鼻涕的小家伙，她还不到七岁。”

“His daughter,” suggested Bracken. “Blackwood has six sons, but only the one daughter. He dotes on her. A snot-nosed little creature, couldn’t be more than seven.”

“小了点，不过她可以为王室效劳。”

“Young, but she might serve.”

裘诺斯伯爵喝干了剩下的酒，把角杯扔到一边。“承诺过给我的土地和城堡怎么办？”

Lord Jonos drained the last of his ale and tossed the horn aside. “What of the lands and castles we were promised?”

“哪些土地？”

“What lands were these?”

“寡妇河东岸， 从十字弓山到车辙草甸，还有小河里所有的岛。玉米磨坊和领主磨坊，污泥厅的废墟、强暴村、战争谷、老铁厂、巴克村、黑巴克村、石冢村、泥水塘，和马德墓的集市城镇。黄蜂林、罗根林、绿山，以及芭巴的双乳峰。布莱克伍德家叫它米茜的双乳峰，不过它最开始是叫芭巴的。蜂蜜树村和所有的蜂房。这儿，我已经全部标出来了，请大人赏脸看看。”他从桌子上翻出一副羊皮纸地图。

“The east bank of the Widow’s Wash, from Crossbow Ridge to Rutting Meadow, and all the islands in the stream. Grindcorn Mill and Lord’s Mill, the ruins of Muddy Hall, the Ravishment, Battle Valley, Oldforge, the villages of Buckle, Blackbuckle, Cairns, and Claypool, and the market town at Mudgrave. Waspwood, Lorgen’s Wood, Greenhill, and Barba’s Teats. Missy’s Teats, the Blackwoods call them, but they were Barba’s first. Honeytree and all the hives. Here, I’ve marked them out if my lord would like a look.” He rooted about on a table and produced a parchment map.

詹姆用好的那只手接过地图，但他还得用金手打开并展平它。“这可是一大块地，”他评论道，“会使你的领地增加四分之一。”

Jaime took it with his good hand, but he had to use the gold to open it and hold it flat. “This is a deal of land,” he observed. “You will be increasing your domains by a quarter.”

布雷肯的口气很强硬，“这些土地过去全都是石篱城的，是布莱克伍德从我们手里偷过去的。”

Bracken’s mouth set stubbornly. “All these lands belonged to Stone Hedge once. The Blackwoods stole them from us.”

“双乳峰中间这个村子怎么办？”詹姆用他的金手指敲了敲地图。

“What about this village here, between the Teats?” Jaime tapped the map with a gilded knuckle.

“便士树村。这也曾是我们的，不过它作为王室封地已经几百年了。别管它了，我们只想要回被布莱克伍德偷走的地方，您父亲大人答应过，只要我们能帮他摆平泰陀斯伯爵，就把这些地方还给我。”

“Pennytree. That was ours once too, but it’s been a royal fief for a hundred years. Leave that out. We ask only for the lands stolen by the Blackwoods. Your lord father promised to restore them to us if we would subdue Lord Tytos for him.”

“直到我刚才骑马过来的时候，还看见徒利家的旗帜在城墙上飘着，史塔克家的冰原狼旗也是。看起来好像泰陀斯伯爵还没被摆平。”

“Yet as I was riding up, I saw Tully banners flying from the castle walls, and the direwolf of Stark as well. That would seem to suggest that Lord Tytos has not been subdued.”

“我们已经把他们从战场上赶进了鸦树城，并且把他们牢牢围困在城里。再给我点充足的人手去攻城，大人，我保证能把他们全部赶进坟墓。”

“We’ve driven him and his from the field and penned them up inside Raventree. Give me sufficient men to storm his walls, my lord, and I will subdue the whole lot of them to their graves.”

“如果再给你点人手，制服布莱克伍德的就是他们而不是你。那样我就直接自己去领赏了。”詹姆把地图卷起来，“如果可以的话，把这个给我。”

“If I gave you sufficient men, they would be doing the subduing, not you. In which case I should reward myself.” Jaime let the map roll up again. “I’ll keep this if I might.”

“地图是您的了，但土地是我们的。我听说兰尼斯特有债必还，而我们为你们而战。”

“The map is yours. The lands are ours. It’s said that a Lannister always pays his debts. We fought for you.”

“还没有你们跟我们对着干的一半时间长。”

“Not half as long as you fought against us.”

“国王陛下已经赦免了我们。我侄子和我的亲生儿子死在你剑下。你们的魔山抢走了我的庄稼，然后把所有搬不走的东西全部烧毁。他放火烧了我的城堡，强奸了我的女儿，为此我需要补偿。”

“The king has pardoned us for that. I lost my nephew to your swords, and my natural son. Your Mountain stole my harvest and burned everything he could not carry off. He put my castle to the torch and raped one of my daughters. I will have recompense.”

“魔山死了，我老爸也是，”詹姆对他说，“而且有人会说留着你的脑袋已经是种补偿。毕竟你的确曾经效忠于史塔克，直到瓦德侯爵杀了他。”

“The Mountain’s dead, as is my father,” Jaime told him, “and some might say your head was recompense enough. You did declare for Stark, and kept faith with him until Lord Walder killed him.”

“谋杀了他，还有很多我的血亲。”裘诺斯伯爵扭头吐了一口痰，“是的，我曾效忠于少狼主，我也会一样的效忠于您，只要您对我公平点。我在少狼主死了之后向您家族屈膝投降，是因为我认为给死人卖命，为了无法翻盘的败局让布雷肯家族白白流血，实在没有意义。”

“Murdered him, and a dozen good men of my own blood.” Lord Jonos turned his head and spat. “Aye, I kept faith with the Young Wolf. As I’ll keep faith with you, so long as you treat me fair. I bent the knee because I saw no sense in dying for the dead nor shedding Bracken blood in a lost cause.”

“精明的家伙。”即使有些人可能会说布莱克伍德伯爵比他更有荣誉感。“你会得到你的土地。起码是一部分，既然你在让布莱克伍德屈服的行动中有些贡献。”

“A prudent man.” Though some might say that Lord Blackwood has been more honorable. “You’ll get your lands. Some of them, at least. Since you partly subdued the Blackwoods.”

裘诺斯伯爵似乎对此很满意。“不管大人认为给我们哪一部分比较公平，我们都乐于接受。如果您愿意接受我的忠告，那么不必对那些布莱克伍德太客气 ，他们身体里流淌着背叛的血液。在安达尔人来到维斯特洛之前，布雷肯家族就统治着这片土地，我们是国王而他们是我们的封臣，但是他们背叛了我们并且篡夺了王位。每个布莱克伍德都是天生的变色龙，当您定下条约的时候得牢牢记住这个。”

That seemed to satisfy Lord Jonos. “We will be content with whatever portion my lord thinks fair. If I may offer you some counsel, though, it does not serve to be too gentle with these Blackwoods. Treachery runs in their blood. Before the Andals came to Westeros, House Bracken ruled this river. We were kings and the Blackwoods were our vassals, but they betrayed us and usurped the crown. Every Blackwood is born a turncloak. You would do well to remember that when you are making terms.”

“噢，我会的。”詹姆保证道。

“Oh, I shall,” Jaime promised.

当他从布雷肯的帐篷骑向鸦树城正门的时候，小派在他前面打着和平的旗帜。他们还没骑到城堡，就有二十双眼睛从壁垒的门房探望出来。他让“荣誉”停在护城河边，一条石墙围住了深深的沟壕，绿色的河水被浮渣阻塞。詹姆正打算命令肯洛斯爵士奏响赫洛克之号，吊桥就开始慢慢放下。

When he rode from Bracken’s siege camp to the gates of Raventree, Peck went before him with a peace banner. Before they reached the castle, twenty pairs of eyes were watching them from the gatehouse ramparts. He drew Honor to a halt at the edge of the moat, a deep trench lined with stone, its green waters choked by scum. Jaime was about to command Ser Kennos to sound the Horn of Herrock when the drawbridge began to descend.

泰陀斯？布莱克伍德伯爵在外庭院迎接詹姆，胯下的战马和他自己一样瘦弱不堪。鸦树城伯爵又瘦又高，鹰钩鼻，长头发，乱蓬蓬的灰白胡子中白色要比灰色的多。他身着猩红色盔甲，打磨光亮的护胸甲上镶嵌白银，勾画出一棵白色的枯树。渡鸦羽毛的斗篷在肩头上顺风飘动。

Lord Tytos Blackwood met him in the outer ward, mounted on a destrier as gaunt as himself. Very tall and very thin, the Lord of Raventree had a hook nose, long hair, and a ragged salt-and-pepper beard that showed more salt than pepper. In silver inlay on the breastplate of his burnished scarlet armor was a white tree bare and dead, surrounded by a flock of onyx ravens taking flight. A cloak of raven feathers fluttered from his shoulders.

“泰陀斯伯爵，”詹姆说，

“Lord Tytos,” Jaime said.

“爵士。“

“Ser.”

”谢谢你允许我进来。”

“Thank you for allowing me to enter.”

“我不会说欢迎你来，但也不否认我曾经期待着你能来。你是来要我投降的。”

“I will not say that you are welcome. Nor will I deny that I have hoped that you might come. You are here for my sword.”

“我是来结束这一切的。你的人英勇战斗，但是你已经输了这场战争。你准备好投降了吗？”

“I am here to make an end of this. Your men have fought valiantly, but your war is lost. Are you prepared to yield?”

“向国王，而非向裘诺斯。布雷肯。”

“To the king. Not to Jonos Bracken.”

“我明白。”

“I understand.”

布莱克伍德犹豫了片刻，“您希望我现在就在这里下马，并对您发誓效忠吗？”

Blackwood hesitated a moment. “Is it your wish that I dismount and kneel before you here and now?”

周围有一百只眼睛看着。“风太冷，地上都是泥，”詹姆说，“只要我们在条约上达成共识，你可以选择跪在会客室的地毯上。”

A hundred eyes were looking on. “The wind is cold and the yard is muddy,” said Jaime. “You can do your kneeling on the carpet in your solar once we’ve agreed on terms.”

“您非常有骑士风度，”泰陀斯伯爵说，“请进，爵士，我的城堡也许缺少食物，但永远不会缺少礼貌。”

“That is chivalrous of you,” said Lord Tytos. “Come, ser. My hall might lack for food, but never for courtesy.”

布莱克伍德的会客室坐落于一座木质塔楼的二楼，当他们进去的时候，炉火正熊熊燃烧。黑橡木做的大梁撑起天花板，整个房间宽敞明亮。墙上悬挂着羊毛挂毯，两扇有木质窗棱的大门正对着神木林。透过镶嵌着厚厚的黄色玻璃的菱形窗格，詹姆瞥见了那棵大树遒劲的树枝，正是这些树枝赋予了这座城堡现在的名字。那是一棵古老而又巨大的鱼梁木，比凯岩城的石花园中那棵还要大十倍。但是这棵已经枯死了。

Blackwood’s solar was on the second floor of a cavernous timber keep. There was a fire burning in the hearth when they entered. The room was large and airy, with great beams of dark oak supporting the high ceiling. Woolen tapestries covered the walls, and a pair of wide latticework doors looked out upon the godswood. Through their thick, diamond-shaped panes of yellow glass Jaime glimpsed the gnarled limbs of the tree from which the castle took its name. It was a weirwood ancient and colossal, ten times the size of the one in the Stone Garden at Casterly Rock. This tree was bare and dead, though.

“布雷肯家毒死了它，”主人说道，“一千年来，它都没有长出一片叶子。学士们说，再过一千年它就会变成石头。鱼梁木永不腐烂。”

“The Brackens poisoned it,” said his host. “For a thousand years it has not shown a leaf. In another thousand it will have turned to stone, the maesters say. Weirwoods never rot.”

“渡鸦呢？”詹姆问，“它们在哪？”

“And the ravens?” asked Jaime. “Where are they?”

“它们每天傍晚飞来然后整夜都栖息在这里，有好几百只。就像一片片黑色的叶子，盖满每一条树枝。数千年来一直如此，没人知道为什么，这树木至今仍然吸引它们每晚前来。”布莱克伍德坐在一张高背椅上，“为着荣誉的缘故，我必须问问，我的主君怎样了？”

“They come at dusk and roost all night. Hundreds of them. They cover the tree like black leaves, every limb and every branch. They have been coming for thousands of years. How or why, no man can say, yet the tree draws them every night.” Blackwood settled in a high-backed chair. “For honor’s sake I must ask about my liege lord.”

“作为我的俘虏，艾德慕爵士正在前往凯岩城的路上，他的妻子会在孪河城停留直到她的孩子出生，然后带着孩子一起与丈夫会合。只要不再企图逃跑或是密谋反叛，艾德慕爵士就能长命百岁。”

“Ser Edmure is on his way to Casterly Rock as my captive. His wife will remain at the Twins until their child is born. Then she and the babe will join him. So long as he does not attempt escape or plot rebellion, Edmure will live a long life.”

“苟延残喘，毫无尊严地活着。直到他死去，人们都会说他没有勇气抗争。”

“Long and bitter. A life without honor. Until his dying day, men will say he was afraid to fight.”