Finally Gared looked down. No fire, he muttered, low under his breath. 最后盖瑞低下头。那就算了。他讪讪地说。

Royce took it for acquiescence¹ and turned away. Lead on, he said to Will. 罗伊斯于是妥协，带路罢。他对威尔说。

Will threaded their way through a thicket², 威尔领他穿越浓密树丛，

then started up the slope to the low ridge³ where he had found his vantage point under a sentinel tree. 爬上低缓斜坡，朝山脊走去，他先前便是在那儿的一棵树下找到藏身处所。

Under the thin crust of snow, the ground was damp and muddy, slick footing, with rocks and hidden roots to trip you up. 薄薄的积雪底，地面潮湿而泥泞，极易滑倒，石块和暗藏的树根也能绊人一跤。

Will made no sound as he climbed. Behind him, he heard the soft metallic⁴ slither of the lordling's ringmail, 威尔爬坡时没有发出任何声响，身后却不时传来公子哥环甲的金属碰撞，

the rustle⁵ of leaves, and muttered curses as reaching branches grabbed at his longsword and tugged⁶ on his splendid sable⁷ cloak. 叶子摩擦，以及分叉枝干绊住他的长剑，勾住他漂亮貂皮斗篷时所发出的咒骂声。

The great sentinel was right there at the top of the ridge, where Will had known it would be, 威尔知道那棵大哨兵树位于山脊最高处，

its lowest branches a bare foot off the ground. 底部枝干离地仅有一尺。

Will slid in underneath⁸, flat on his belly in the snow and the mud, and looked down on the empty clearing below. 于是他爬进矮树丛，平趴在残雪和泥泞里，往下方空旷的平地望去。

His heart stopped in his chest. For a moment he dared not breathe. 他的心脏停止了跳动，好一阵不敢呼吸。

Moonlight shone down on the clearing, the ashes of the firepit, the snow-covered lean-to, the great rock, 月光洒落在空地上，映照出营火余烬，白雪覆盖的岩石，

the little half-frozen stream. Everything was just as it had been a few hours ago. 半结冰的小溪，全都和数小时前所见一模一样。

They were gone. All the bodies were gone. 惟一的差别是，所有的人都不见了。

Gods! he heard behind him. A sword slashed⁹ at a branch as Ser Waymar Royce gained the ridge. 诸神保佑！他听见背后传来的声音。威玛·罗伊斯爵士挥剑劈砍树枝，总算上了坡顶。

He stood there beside the sentinel, longsword in hand, his cloak billowing behind him as the wind came up, 他站在哨兵树旁，手握宝剑，披风被吹得噼啪作响，

outlined nobly against the stars for all to see. 明亮的星光清楚地勾勒出他高贵的身影。