Chapter 12: A Fortress of Roots and Resolve （根须与决心筑成的堡垒）

　　With the image of the stag's demise seared into his mind, every shadow seemed to hold the glint of worg eyes. Leon stayed so close to Iris that he nearly trod on her heels. The need for shelter was no longer a matter of comfort; it was a desperate imperative. The forest floor, thick with decaying needles, offered no protection. They needed walls. They needed height.

　　雄鹿毙命的景象烙印在里昂脑海中，此刻每个阴影里仿佛都闪烁着座狼的眼睛。他紧跟着艾莉丝，几乎要踩到她的脚后跟。寻找庇护所不再是为了舒适，而是成了生死攸关的要务。铺满腐烂松针的林地表层无法提供任何保护。他们需要墙壁。需要高度。

　　Iris, her senses stretched to their limit, led them on a winding path away from the stream and the kill site. She was searching for something specific. Finally, near the base of a particularly massive and ancient pine tree, she stopped. The tree must have been struck by lightning or weakened by age, for it had partially fallen, its root system torn from the earth to create a cavernous space beneath, now sheltered by a wall of tangled roots and earth. It was a natural fortress, dark and dry inside.

　　艾莉丝感官全开，带着他们沿着一条蜿蜒的小径远离溪流和猎杀地点。她在寻找某种特定的东西。终于，在一棵特别巨大古老的松树根部附近，她停了下来。这棵树一定曾被闪电击中或因年老而衰弱，因为它部分倾倒，根系从土壤中拔出，在下方形成了一个洞穴般的空间，如今被盘根错节的根须和泥土遮蔽着。这是一个天然的堡垒，内部黑暗而干燥。

　　"Here," she whispered, peering into the darkness. "We can defend this." She dropped to her hands and knees and crawled inside, Leon following close behind. The space was small, but it would fit both of them if they sat curled up. The air smelled strongly of damp earth and pine, but it was a clean, wild smell, a world away from the taint of the Sepulcher.

　　"这里，"她低语着，窥探黑暗的内部。"这里可以防守。"她手脚并用地爬了进去，里昂紧随其后。空间很小，但足够他们俩蜷缩着坐下。空气中弥漫着浓重的潮湿泥土和松树气味，但这是洁净的、野性的气息，与瑟伯切尔的污浊截然不同。

　　Their first task was to conceal the entrance. Working together, they dragged fallen branches and ferns, weaving them into the existing wall of roots until the opening was all but invisible from the outside. Inside, the darkness was nearly total.

　　他们的首要任务是隐藏入口。两人合力拖来落下的树枝和蕨类植物，将它们编入原有的根墙，直到从外面几乎看不出入口。内部则一片漆黑。

　　"Light," Iris said, her voice a quiet hum in the blackness. "We need a small fire. For warmth, and for courage. But it must be hidden."

　　Leon understood. He fumbled in the pouch Maeva had given them, pulling out the flint and steel. Iris gathered a handful of bone-dry tinder from the deepest part of their den—old, crumbled pine needles and bits of bark. She arranged them in a small, neat pile in a shallow depression in the earth.

　　"光，"艾莉丝的声音在黑暗中轻轻响起。"我们需要一小堆火。为了取暖，也为了壮胆。但必须隐藏起来。"

　　里昂明白了。他在梅娃给他们的袋子里摸索，取出燧石和火镰。艾莉丝从洞穴最深处收集了一把完全干燥的火绒——陈年碎松针和树皮屑。她在地面一个浅洼处将它们堆成一小堆。

　　Leon struck the flint. The first spark died immediately. The second fizzled. His hands were cold and clumsy. The memory of the warm, roaring fire in Maeva's cabin felt like a cruel taunt. He took a deep breath, remembering his father's lessons. A steady hand. A sharp strike. He tried again. A spark leapt, caught on a shred of bark, and glowed for a heart-stopping second before fading. He blew on it gently, as his father had taught him. The glow intensified, then a tiny flame sprouted, hungry and orange. It licked at the tinder, growing steadily.

　　里昂敲击燧石。第一颗火星瞬间熄灭。第二颗嘶响着没了动静。他的手又冷又笨。记忆中梅娃小屋里那温暖炽热的炉火仿佛成了一种残酷的嘲弄。他深吸一口气，想起父亲的教导。手要稳，敲击要狠。 他再次尝试。一颗火星跃起，点燃了一片树皮屑，在令人窒息的瞬间发出微光，然后黯淡下去。他轻轻吹气，像父亲教他的那样。微光变亮，随即一朵小小的橙色火苗蹿升起来，贪婪地舔舐着火绒，稳定地蔓延着。

　　They had fire.

　　They fed it with the smallest, driest twigs they could find, keeping the flame low and contained. The tiny fire pit cast a faint, dancing light on the walls of their root-bound sanctuary, pushing back the oppressive darkness. The warmth was minimal, but the psychological effect was immense. They were not just hiding in a hole; they had created a hearth.

　　他们有了火。

　　他们用能找到的最细小、最干燥的树枝小心喂养着火堆，让火焰保持低矮可控。小小的火堆在他们根须围成的避难所墙壁上投下摇曳的微光，驱散了压抑的黑暗。暖意有限，但心理上的效果是巨大的。他们不仅仅是躲在洞里；他们创造了一个家。

　　They ate a small portion of the waybread, chewing slowly to make it last. The silence of the forest was different now, from within their hideout. It was a buffer, not a threat. They could hear the sounds of the night—the hoot of an owl, the rustle of some small creature in the leaves—but they were distant, filtered through their wall of roots.

　　他们分吃了一小部分旅行面包，慢慢咀嚼以延长食物。从藏身之处内部听来，森林的寂静也变得不同了。它成了一种缓冲，而非威胁。他们能听见夜晚的声音——猫头鹰的鸣叫，树叶间某种小动物的窸窣声——但这些声音是遥远的，被他们的根墙过滤了。

　　Leon sat with his back against the cool earth, the hunting knife lying across his lap. He ran his thumb over the smooth wood of the handle. Kaelan's knife. He wondered about the man who had owned it, about the war that had taken him. The weapon felt less like a tool and more like a responsibility now.

　　里昂背靠着凉爽的泥土坐下，猎刀横放在膝上。他用拇指摩挲着光滑的木制刀柄。凯兰的刀。 他在想这把刀曾经的主人，想那场带走了他的战争。这把武器现在感觉不像是一件工具，更像是一份责任。

　　Iris was sharpening a stick with the point of the antler Leon had found, whittling it to a sharp point. She worked with a quiet focus. She wasn't preparing for a fight; she was making a tool, a probe for checking the ground ahead, or a piton for climbing.

　　艾莉丝正用里昂找到的鹿角尖磨削一根木棍，把它削尖。她安静而专注地工作着。她不是在准备战斗；而是在制作工具，一个用于探查前方地面的探针，或者一个用于攀爬的岩钉。

　　"We will need to move quickly tomorrow," she said, not looking up from her work. "The orc and the worg... their paths are close. This part of the forest is not safe."

　　"Where can we go that is safe?" Leon asked, the question sounding hopeless even to his own ears.

　　"我们明天需要快速移动，"她说，没有从手中的活计上抬头。"兽人和座狼……它们的踪迹很近。这片森林不安全。"

　　"哪里才是安全的呢？"里昂问道，这问题在他自己听来都透着绝望。

　　Iris paused her whittling. "There is no safe place. Only places that are safer for a time." She looked at him, her face illuminated by the tiny fire. "We go higher. Into the hills. The worgs prefer the deep valleys. The orcs... they follow the game trails. We will go where the footing is difficult for large creatures."

　　艾莉丝停下了削刮的动作。"没有安全的地方。只有暂时相对安全的地方。"她看着他，脸庞被微弱的火光照亮。"我们往高处走。进到丘陵地带。座狼喜欢深谷。兽人……它们沿着兽径走。我们要去那些大型生物难以立足的地方。"

　　It was a strategy. A plan based on observation and the logic of the wild. It wasn't a guarantee, but it was more than just running blindly. Leon nodded, a flicker of the same resolve she possessed warming his own chest. He picked up the antler and started scraping the bark off a sturdy branch, mimicking her actions. He might not be able to move as quietly or see as well in the dark, but he could learn. He could make himself useful.

　　这是一个策略。一个基于观察和野外逻辑的计划。它不是保证，但总比盲目乱跑强。里昂点点头，一丝与她相同的决心在他胸中燃起。他拿起鹿角，开始刮一根结实树枝的树皮，模仿着她的动作。他或许无法像她那样悄无声息地移动或在黑暗中视物，但他可以学。他可以让自己变得有用。

　　Inside their tiny, fire-lit fortress, surrounded by the immense and watchful darkness of Silverpine, they worked in silence. They were no longer just fleeing. They were adapting. They were learning to live in the cracks of a world at war. And for tonight, that was enough.

　　在他们那个被微火照亮的小小堡垒里，置身于银松森林巨大而警觉的黑暗中，他们默默地劳作着。他们不再仅仅是逃亡。他们在适应。他们在学习在这个战火纷飞的世界的缝隙中生存。而今晚，这就足够了。