Chapter 1: The Whispering Woods（低语森林）

　　The last sliver of sunlight bled away behind the trees, painting the Elwynn Forest in deep blues and purples. Leon’s breath came out in puffs of white. He’d gone too far, again. The familiar, friendly oaks near Goldshire had given way to strange, twisted trees with silver leaves that seemed to watch him. The air grew colder, and the cheerful chirps of crickets were replaced by a deep, unsettling silence. He was in the fringes of the Whispering Woods now, a place his father had told him held old magic and older secrets.

　　“Just a little further,” he whispered to himself, his hand tightening around the rough hilt of his father’s old skinning knife. A strange, melodic hum carried on the wind, something unlike any bird he’d ever heard. It pulled him deeper. Pushing through a thicket of ferns, his foot caught on a root, and he tumbled down a small, mossy bank with a grunt.

　　最后一缕阳光从树梢间消散，将艾尔文森林染成深蓝与暗紫。里昂呼出的气成了白雾。他又走得太远了。闪金镇附近那些熟悉友好的橡树，已被奇特的、枝叶盘绕、长着银色树叶的怪树取代，它们仿佛在注视着他。空气变得更冷，蟋蟀欢快的鸣叫被一种深沉、令人不安的寂静所取代。他现在到了低语森林的边缘，父亲说过，这里藏着古老的魔法和更古老的秘密。

　　“就再往前一点点，”他自言自语，小手握紧了父亲那把旧剥皮刀的粗糙刀柄。风中传来一阵奇特的、旋律般的轻吟，那不是他听过的任何一种鸟鸣。这声音吸引他深入。他拨开一簇茂密的蕨类植物，脚被树根绊住，咕哝着滚下了一个长满青苔的小土坡。

　　He lay still for a moment, the wind knocked out of him. As he pushed himself up, spitting out dirt, he saw it. Behind a giant, glowing mushroom that pulsed with a soft, blue light, a figure was moving. It was a girl, no older than him, but with ears that tapered to delicate points and eyes that held the faint, silvery light of the moon itself. She was kneeling, her slender fingers working deftly at a crude snare—a snare Leon realized, with a jolt of guilt, that he had set that morning. A small, grey rabbit, terrified but unhurt, quivered in the trap.

　　他躺了一会儿，喘不过气。当他吐着嘴里的泥，撑起身子时，他看到了。在一株散发着柔和蓝光、搏动着的巨大蘑菇后面，有一个身影在移动。那是一个女孩，和他年纪相仿，却长着一对尖尖的长耳，双眸仿佛蕴藏着淡淡的、银色的月光。她跪在地上，纤细的手指灵巧地解着一个粗糙的绳套——里昂心头一紧，认出那是他早上设的陷阱。一只灰色的小兔子，受了惊吓但没受伤，在陷阱里瑟瑟发抖。

　　Their eyes met. Instead of fear or anger, hers showed only a quiet, intense curiosity. She held a finger to her lips. The gesture was so swift and certain that Leon froze mid-motion.

　　“You walk like a storm giant,” she said, her voice like the rustling of autumn leaves, both soft and crisp. “The forest hears you coming from a league away.”

　　She turned back to the snare, and with a final twist, loosened the cord. The rabbit shot out like an arrow, disappearing into the undergrowth. She stood up, brushing bits of moss from her simple, leaf-green tunic. She was taller than him, and moved with a grace that made Leon feel all the more like a clumsy ox.

　　四目相对。她的眼中没有恐惧或愤怒，只有一种安静的、强烈的好奇。她将一根手指抵在唇边。这个动作如此迅速而肯定，让里昂的动作僵在半空。

　　“你走起路来像个山岭巨人，”她的声音如同秋叶的沙沙作响，既轻柔又清晰，“森林在一里格外就听见你来了。”

　　她转回身继续解绳套，最后扭了一下，松开了绳索。兔子像箭一样射了出去，消失在灌木丛中。她站起身，拍掉简朴的绿叶色束腰外衣上的青苔碎屑。她比他高，举止带着一种优雅，让里昂觉得自己更像头笨拙的公牛了。

　　“That was my snare,” Leon blurted out, his cheeks flushing immediately. He hadn’t meant to sound accusing.

　　The elf girl tilted her head. “It was a poorly set one. The knot was too tight. It would have broken its leg, not held it.” She took a step closer, her moonlit eyes studying him with open fascination. “You are a human child. Why are you so deep in the woods? Your villages are that way.” She pointed east, the direction he’d come from.

　　“I’m not a child,” Leon said, puffing out his chest slightly. “I’m exploring. And I’m lost.” The admission slipped out before he could stop it.

　　“那是我的陷阱，”里昂脱口而出，脸颊立刻烧了起来。他本不想听起来像在指责。

　　精灵女孩歪了歪头。“是个设得很糟的陷阱。绳结太紧了。会勒断它的腿，而不是困住它。”她走近一步，月光般的眼睛带着毫不掩饰的着迷打量着他。“你是个人类孩子。为什么到森林这么深的地方？你们的村子在那边。”她指向东边，他来的方向。

　　“我不是孩子，”里昂说着，微微挺起胸膛。“我在探险。而且我迷路了。”这话在他阻止自己前就溜了出来。

　　A faint smile touched her lips. “I am also… exploring.” She seemed to choose the word carefully. “I am Iris. This part of the forest is not safe when the dark fully settles. There are things that listen, and things that hunger.”

　　A sudden howl, too close and too guttural to be a wolf, echoed through the trees. The smile vanished from Iris’s face. In one fluid motion, she was at his side, her hand closing around his wrist. Her grip was surprisingly strong.

　　“Come,” she said, her voice low and urgent. “We must be silent now. Truly silent. Can you do that?”

　　Leon, his heart hammering against his ribs, could only nod. The familiar woods of his childhood were gone. He was in her world now. And for the first time that evening, he felt a thrill of fear that had nothing to do with the dark, and everything to do with the sharp-eared girl pulling him deeper into the whispering shadows.

　　一丝淡淡的微笑掠过她的嘴角。“我也在……探险。”她似乎仔细地挑选着用词。“我是艾莉丝。当天完全黑下来，森林的这片区域就不安全了。有东西在倾听，也有东西正饥肠辘辘。”

　　一声突如其来的嚎叫，太近了，太沙哑了，绝不是狼嚎，在树林间回荡。艾莉丝脸上的笑容消失了。她以一个流畅的动作来到他身边，手抓住了他的手腕。她的握力出奇地强。

　　“来，”她说道，声音低沉而紧迫。“我们现在必须保持安静。真正的安静。你能做到吗？”

　　里昂的心臟狂跳着撞击他的肋骨，他只能点头。他童年熟悉的树林消失了。他现在进入了她的世界。而在这个傍晚，他第一次感到一阵恐惧的战栗，这战栗与黑暗无关，全与那个尖耳朵的女孩有关，她正拉着他，深入那窃窃私语的阴影之中。