The Old Bear was taking two cages of ravens, so they might send back word as they went. Maester Aemon was blind and far too frail to ride with them, so his steward must go in his place. "We need you for the ravens, Sam. And someone has to help me keep Grenn humble."
可熊老打算随军携带两笼信鸦,以便沿途将讯息送回城堡,而伊蒙学士双眼已盲,身子又太过孱弱,无法与他们同行,只好由他的事务官代替。“山姆,我们需要你照顾信鸦,我自己也需要你帮忙照着葛兰,确保他小心一点。”
Sam's chins quivered. "You could care for the ravens, or Grenn could, or anyone," he said with a thin edge of desperation in his voice. "I could show you how. You know your letters too, you could write down Lord Mormont's messages as well as I"
那他一定是傻子山姆的下巴抖了抖,“又不是只有我能照顾信鸦,换你或葛兰也行,这事谁都做得来。”他的声音里带着一丝绝望,“我可以教你怎么弄,你也识字,帮莫尔蒙大人写信不会比我差。”
I'm the Old Bear's steward. I'll need to squire for him, tend his horse, set up his tent; I won't have time to watch over birds as well. Sam, you said the words. You're a brother of the Night's Watch now.
“我是熊老的事务官,我得跟在他身边,照顾他的坐骑,帮他搭帐篷,没时间照顾鸟儿的。山姆,你发过誓,已经是守夜人的一员了。”
A brother of the Night's Watch shouldn't be so scared.
“守夜人不该害怕,对不对?”
We're all scared. We'd be fools if we weren't. Too many rangers had been lost the past two years, even Benjen Stark, Jon's uncle. They had found two of his uncle's men in the wood, slain, but the corpses had risen in the chill of night. Jon's burnt fingers twitched as he remembered. He still saw the wight in his dreams, dead Othor with the burning blue eyes and the cold black hands, but that was the last thing Sam needed to be reminded of. "There's no shame in fear, my father told me, what matters is how we face it. Come, I'll help you gather up the maps."
“我们谁不害怕呢?要有人不怕,那他一定是傻子。”过去这两年来,已经有太多游骑兵下落不明,其中也包括琼恩的叔叔班扬·史塔克。他们在森林里找到叔叔的两名手下,均惨遭杀害,尸首更在寒夜中死而复生。琼恩一想起这事,灼伤的手指便不由自主地抽搐起来。至今他依旧会在梦中看到尸鬼奥瑟,那双燃烧的蓝眼和黑冷的双手,但这些可不能对山姆提起。“我父亲对我说过,不必为恐惧而羞耻,重要的是如何去面对。走吧,我帮你拿地图。”
Sam nodded unhappily.
山姆怏怏不乐地点点头。