冰与火之歌系列之《权力的游戏》第370期:第二十三章 艾德(12)

 　　Or mayhaps the Hand wanted a blade?  还是首相大人要把好剑？

　　Tobho had learned to work Valyrian steel at the forges of Qohor as a boy.  托布说他在科霍尔也习得了打造瓦雷利亚钢的技术，

　　Only a man who knew the spells could take old weapons and forge them anew.  只有知道正确咒语的人才有办法使老旧的武器焕然一新。

　　The direwolf is the sigil of House Stark¹, is it not? I could fashion a direwolf helm so real that children will run from you in the street, he vowed². 史塔克家族的纹章是冰原狼，对不对？我可以帮您打顶冰原狼头盔，保管走在路上小孩看了就跑。他拍胸脯保证。

　　Ned smiled. Did you make a falcon³ helm for Lord Arryn? 奈德微微一笑。这么说来，你也帮艾林大人打了顶猎鹰头盔？

　　Tobho Mott paused a long moment and set aside his wine. The Hand did call upon me, with Lord Stannis, the king's brother.  托布·莫特闻言，停顿了很长时间，最后他放下酒杯：首相大人他是找过我，跟国王陛下的大弟史坦尼斯大人一起来的。

　　I regret to say, they did not honor me with their patronage⁴. 遗憾的是我没那个荣幸，不曾为他们效劳。

　　Ned looked at the man evenly, saying nothing, waiting. He had found over the years that silence sometimes yielded more than questions.  奈德平静地看着他，什么也不说，只静静地等待。这些年来，他发现沉默常常比发问更有效，

　　And so it was this time. 眼下正是如此。

　　They asked to see the boy, the armorer said, so I took them back to the forge. 他们说要见见那孩子，武器师傅道，所以我带他们去了锻炉。

　　The boy, Ned echoed. He had no notion who the boy might be. I should like to see the boy as well. 那孩子，奈德跟着重复。他根本不知道那孩子是谁。我也想见见那孩子。

　　Tobho Mott gave him a cool, careful look.  托布·莫特冷静而谨慎地看了他一眼。

　　As you wish, my lord, he said with no trace of his former friendliness⁵.  遵命，大人。他先前的友善语气已经消失无踪。

　　He led Ned out a rear door and across a narrow yard, back to the cavernous stone barn where the work was done.  他领着奈德走出后门，穿越一个狭长的庭院，进入宽敞的石砌谷仓，铁匠铺的实际工作就是在这里进行。

　　When the armorer opened the door, the blast of hot air that came through made Ned feel as though he were walking into a dragon's mouth.  武器师傅刚开门，一股热气便向外喷涌而出，教奈德觉得自己仿佛要步入火龙口中。

1 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

2 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

3 falcon   

n.隼，猎鹰

参考例句：

• The falcon was twice his size with pouted feathers.鹰张开羽毛比两只鹰还大。
• The boys went hunting with their falcon.男孩子们带着猎鹰出去打猎了。

4 patronage   

n.赞助，支援，援助；光顾，捧场

参考例句：

• Though it was not yet noon,there was considerable patronage.虽然时间未到中午，店中已有许多顾客惠顾。
• I am sorry to say that my patronage ends with this.很抱歉，我的赞助只能到此为止。

5 friendliness   

n.友谊，亲切，亲密

参考例句：

• Behind the mask of friendliness,I know he really dislikes me.在友善的面具后面，我知道他其实并不喜欢我。
• His manner was a blend of friendliness and respect.他的态度友善且毕恭毕敬。