Chapter 2: The Scent of Fear and Earth （恐惧与泥土的气息）

　　The guttural echo of the howl rolled through the trees, scraping against Leon's nerves like a rough stone. Iris's hand became an iron band, cold and unyielding around his wrist. She didn't run. Instead, she pulled him down into a crouch, her other hand swiftly sweeping the ground to gather a handful of damp soil and rotting leaves, which she smeared without ceremony over his face and coarse tunic. "Mask your scent," her breath was a ghost against his ear, barely heavier than the wind. She worked faster on herself, camouflaging her lavender-toned skin and light hair with the same earthy paste in a few efficient motions.

　　那声嚎叫粗哑的回音在林木间滚动，像粗糙的石头磨过里昂的神经。艾莉丝的手像一道铁箍，冰冷而坚定地圈着他的手腕。她没有跑，而是拉着他蹲下身，另一只手迅速拂过地面，抓起一把潮湿的泥土和腐叶，不由分说地抹在里昂的脸上和粗布外套上。“遮住你的气味，”她的气息拂过他的耳畔，比风声重不了多少。她自己的动作更快，几下就将自己淡紫色的皮肤和浅色的头发用同样的方式伪装了起来。

　　Leon didn't resist. He could feel that this elf girl knew things he didn't. Fear tightened his throat, but beneath it surged a strange excitement. This was real exploration. Iris signaled for him to follow. Her movement made him understand why she had said he walked like a storm giant. Her feet seemed to sense every twig on the ground, each step landing precisely on the thickest moss or softest earth, without a single sound. Leon tried to imitate, but every footfall felt like a heavy mallet, crunching faintly on the detritus.

　　里昂没有反抗。他能感觉到，这个精灵女孩知道一些他不知道的事情。恐惧让他喉咙发紧，但底下涌动的是一种奇异的兴奋。这才是真正的探险。艾莉丝示意他跟着。她移动的方式让里昂明白了为什么她说他走路像山岭巨人。她的脚似乎能感知到地上的每一根枯枝，每一次落脚都精准地踩在最厚实的苔藓或泥土上，没有一丝声响。里昂竭力模仿，但他每一步都觉得自己的脚像沉重的木槌，踩得落叶发出细微的碎裂声。

　　They hid behind a massive, ancient tree with a hollowed-out base. The space was small, forcing them to press close together. Leon could smell her—a faint scent of fir and moonlight, a strange contrast to the earthy odor on his face. He held his breath, listening. Heavy footsteps approached, accompanied by a sound like wet leather rubbing together and coarse, phlegmy breathing. Through a gap in the roots, Leon glimpsed a large, hulking figure. It was a gnoll, taller and uglier than any from the stories he'd heard. Its filthy, matted fur was caked with gore, its muzzle drooled, and its small eyes glinted with a bloodthirsty red light. It dragged a rusty, spike-studded cleaver, the blade scraping unnervingly against the ground.

　　他们躲到一棵巨大的、根部已经空心的古树后面。空隙很小，他们必须紧紧挨在一起。里昂能闻到她身上有一股淡淡的、像冷杉和月光混合的味道，与他脸上泥土的腥味形成奇特对比。他屏住呼吸，侧耳倾听。沉重的脚步声传来了，伴随着一种像是湿漉漉的皮革摩擦的声音，还有粗重的、带着痰音的喘息。透过树根的缝隙，里昂瞥见了一个庞大的、佝偻的身影。那是一个豺狼人，比他在故事里听过的要高大丑陋得多。肮脏的皮毛纠结在一起，粘着碎肉和血块，下颚突出，滴着涎水，一双小眼睛里闪烁着嗜血的红色光芒。它手里拖着一把锈迹斑斑、带着尖刺的砍刀，刀锋划过地面，发出令人牙酸的刮擦声。

　　The gnoll stopped near where they had been moments before, its large nostrils flaring as it sucked in the air, searching. Leon's heart hammered against his ribs so violently he feared the creature would hear it. He bit his lip hard. He could feel Iris's body tense beside him, but the hand on his wrist remained remarkably steady, a silent command: Don't move. Don't make a sound. Time seemed to congeal. The gnoll growled in frustration, slashing its cleaver randomly at a nearby bush before seemingly losing interest. It shuffled away, its heavy footsteps and ragged breaths gradually fading until the forest returned to its profound silence, now thick with the pounding aftermath of survival.

　　豺狼人在他们刚才停留的地方附近停下，巨大的鼻孔用力抽动着，似乎在空气中搜寻着什么。里昂的心跳得像要炸开，他死死咬住嘴唇，生怕那怪物听到他擂鼓般的心跳声。他能感觉到艾莉丝的身体也绷紧了，但她放在他手腕上的手却稳定得出奇，仿佛在传递一种无声的告诫：别动，别出声。时间仿佛凝固了。豺狼人烦躁地低吼了一声，用砍刀胡乱劈砍了几下旁边的灌木，然后似乎失去了兴趣，拖着脚步，朝着另一个方向慢吞吞地走远了。那令人窒息的脚步声和喘息声渐渐消失，森林里恢复了那种深沉的寂静，但这一次，寂静中充满了劫后余生的悸动。

　　Only after a long while, when the last trace of sound had vanished, did Iris slowly release his hand. She let out a long, silent exhale, her shoulders relaxing a fraction. "It's gone," she whispered, then turned to look at Leon, his face still smeared with mud, his eyes wide with residual fear. Her luminescent eyes in the gloom assessed him. "You were scared. But you didn't cry out. You didn't move."

　　过了很久，直到连最后一点声音都听不见，艾莉丝才缓缓松开了手。她长长地、无声地舒了一口气，肩膀微微放松下来。“它走了，”她轻声说，然后转过头，看着脸上还糊着泥巴、惊魂未定的里昂。她那双在昏暗中微微发光的眼睛审视着他，“你很害怕，但你没有叫。也没有乱动。”

　　Leon swallowed, trying to moisten his dry throat. "What... what was that?"

　　"A resident of the forest," Iris's tone was matter-of-fact, as if stating the obvious. "The hungry kind. They don't usually come this close to human lands." She stood up, brushing the dirt from her hands. "Lately, many boundaries have grown faint."

　　里昂咽了口唾沫，试图让干涩的喉咙舒服些。“那……那是什么？”

　　“森林里的居民之一，”艾莉丝的语气很平淡，仿佛在说一件寻常事，“饥饿的那种。它们通常不会到这么靠近人类领地的地方来。”她站起身，拍了拍手上的泥土，“最近，很多界限都变得模糊了。”

　　He stood up, his legs still a little shaky. For the first time, he truly understood that the "dangers" his father had warned him about were not just stories. He looked at Iris, this elven girl who seemed unreal in the moonlight, who had just saved his life. "Thank you," he said sincerely, his voice still hoarse.

　　里昂也跟着站起来，腿还有些发软。他第一次真正意识到，父亲警告过的“危险”并非虚言。他看着艾莉丝，这个在月光下显得有些不真实的精灵女孩，刚刚救了他一命。“谢谢你，”他由衷地说，声音还有些沙哑。

　　Iris simply shook her head. "The forest at night does not belong to those who walk alone. Human or elf." She glanced up at the star-flecked sky, fragmented by the canopy. "You cannot find your way back in the dark. The paths deceive the eyes."

　　艾莉丝只是摇了摇头。“夜晚的森林不属于单独行动的人。无论是人类还是精灵。”她抬头看了看被树冠切割成碎片的、布满星辰的夜空，“你不能在夜里找到回去的路了。林中的小路在黑暗中会欺骗眼睛。”

　　Leon's heart sank. He was indeed utterly lost.

　　里昂的心沉了一下。他确实完全迷失了方向。

　　Iris seemed to read his thought. "I know a place. For tonight." She paused, then added, "Not safe. But better than here."

　　艾莉丝似乎看穿了他的想法。“我知道一个地方，可以度过今晚。”她顿了顿，补充道，“不算安全，但比在这里好。”

　　Leon barely hesitated. Staying here meant being gnoll-food. He nodded. "I have some journey-bread," he pointed to his small, worn pack. "I can share."

　　里昂几乎没有犹豫。留在这里等于喂豺狼人。他点了点头。“我带了些干粮，”他指了指自己那个小小的、磨破了的背包，“可以分给你。”

　　Iris looked at his pack, and that faint smile seemed to touch her lips again. "Human journey-bread. I am curious to taste it. Follow me."

　　艾莉丝看了看他的背包，嘴角似乎又浮现出那种细微的笑意。“人类的干粮。我很好奇那是什么味道。跟我来。”

　　This time, as she turned to lead the way, Leon was wiser. He watched her footsteps more closely, trying to match her silence. One after the other, like two ghosts, they slipped deeper into the encompassing darkness of the Whispering Woods. For Leon Baros, a world far beyond his imagining had just begun to open its gates on this night.

　　这一次，当她转身带路时，里昂学乖了。他更加小心地观察着她的步伐，努力让自己的脚步变得和她一样轻。他们一前一后，像两个幽灵，悄无声息地滑入低语森林更深沉的黑暗之中。对里昂·巴洛斯来说，一个远超他想象的世界，就在这个夜晚，悄然开启了大门。