Bundled thickly in his furs, Tyrion Lannister pulled on his gloves and nodded to the poor frozen wretches standing sentry outside the Commander's Keep.  提利昂·兰尼斯特包裹在厚重的皮毛大衣里，边戴手套，边朝司令官堡垒外站岗的僵硬倒霉鬼点头致意。

　　He set off across the yard for his own chambers in the King's Tower, walking as briskly as his legs could manage. Patches of snow crunched beneath his feet as his boots broke the night's crust, and his breath steamed before him like a banner.  他迈开步伐，尽他所能地加快脚步，穿过庭院，朝自己位于国王塔的房间走去。靴子踏破寒夜的覆冰，积雪在脚下嘎吱作响，呼吸如旗帜般在眼前凝霜。

　　He shoved his hands into his armpits and walked faster, praying that Morrec had remembered to warm his bed with hot bricks from the fire. 他两手环胸，走得更快，一心祈祷莫里斯没忘记用火炉里的热砖头替他暖被子。

　　Behind the King's Tower, the Wall glimmered in the light of the moon, immense and mysterious.  位于国王塔后方的绝境长城在月光下粼粼发光，庞大而神秘。

　　Tyrion stopped for a moment to look up at it.  提利昂不由得驻足凝望，

　　His legs ached of cold and haste. 双腿则因酷寒和运动而疼痛不已。

　　Suddenly a strange madness took hold of him, a yearning to look once more off the end of the world.  突然，他心生怪异的狂念，决定再看看世界尽头一眼。

　　It would be his last chance, he thought; tomorrow he would ride south, and he could not imagine why he would ever want to return to this frozen desolation.  这是他这辈子最后的机会罢，他心想，明天就要启程南归，而他实在想不出有何理由重回这冰封的不毛之地。

　　The King's Tower was before him, with its promise of warmth and a soft bed, yet Tyrion found himself walking past it, toward the vast pale palisade of the Wall. 国王塔近在眼前，提利昂却不由自主地绕过它，绕过垂手可得的暖意和温床，朝长城这广大的苍白冰壁走去。

　　A wooden stair ascended the south face, anchored on huge rough-hewn beams sunk deep into the ice and frozen in place.  墙南有座粗木横梁搭建的楼梯，深陷在冰层里，牢牢冻住。

　　Back and forth it switched, clawing its way upward as crooked as a bolt of lightning.  长长的楼梯蜿蜒曲折，如一记闪电，弯弯曲曲攀上城墙。

　　The black brothers assured him that it was much stronger than it looked,  黑衫弟兄曾向他保证这楼梯远比看起来坚固，

　　but Tyrion's legs were cramping too badly for him to even contemplate the ascent.  但提利昂的脚痛得实在厉害，根本没法独立攀爬。

　　He went instead to the iron cage beside the well, clambered inside, and yanked hard on the bell rope, three quick pulls. 于是他走往井边的铁笼子，爬了进去，然后用力拉了三下尾端系着传唤铃的绳索。