Chapter 33: The Burden of Mercy （仁慈的重负）
The soldier's name was Kaelen, a name that echoed the young mage apprentice Leon had met in Theramore, but this Kaelen was a world-weary guardsman with a family in Lakeshire. His gratitude was palpable, but so was his despair. "Lad, you're kind, but it's hopeless," he mumbled through a mouthful of waybread. "My leg's shattered. I can't even stand."
士兵的名字叫凯伦，与里昂在塞拉摩遇到的年轻法师学徒同名，但这位凯伦是一位厌倦世事的守卫，家在湖畔镇。他的感激之情是真切的，但他的绝望也同样明显。“孩子，你心肠好，但没用的，”他含着一嘴的旅行面包喃喃道。“我的腿碎了。我连站都站不起来。”
Leon ignored him, his mind racing. He was no healer, but he had watched Iris set a snare with precise, efficient movements. He had seen the straight, strong branches she would select. "We need a splint," he said, more to himself than to Kaelen. He ventured back outside, his knife in hand, every sense alert for danger. He found a straight, sturdy sapling and cut two lengths of wood, then tore strips from his own cloak for binding. Back in the cellar, he worked with a focused intensity, ignoring Kaelen's winces of pain as he straightened the leg as best he could and secured the splint. It was a crude, painful job, but it was done.
里昂没有理会他，脑子飞快地转着。他不是治疗师，但他看过艾莉丝用精准高效的动作设陷阱。他见过她会挑选笔直结实的树枝。“我们需要夹板，”他说，更像是在自言自语，而不是对凯伦说。他冒险回到外面，手握刀子，感官警觉地留意着危险。他找到一棵笔直结实的小树，砍下两段木头，然后从自己的斗篷上撕下布条作绑带。回到地窖后，他专注地工作，尽可能地把腿弄直并固定好夹板，无视凯伦痛得龇牙咧嘴。这是个粗糙、痛苦的过程，但总算完成了。
"Now, we need to move," Leon said, wiping sweat from his brow. The tower felt like a trap, its silence ominous.
"How?" Kaelen gestured to his leg. "I can't walk."
"I'll help you." Leon slung the man's arm over his shoulder, heaving him upright. Kaelen was heavy, solid muscle despite his ordeal. Leon staggered under the weight, his own young frame straining. It was impossible. They wouldn't get ten paces.
“现在，我们得移动了，”里昂说着，擦去额头的汗水。塔楼感觉像个陷阱，它的寂静令人不安。
“怎么移动？”凯伦指指自己的腿。“我走不了路。”
“我扶你。”里昂把男人的手臂搭在自己肩上，用力把他扶起来。凯伦很重，尽管经历了磨难，仍是结实的肌肉。里昂在重压下踉跄了一下，他年轻的身体绷紧了。这不可能。他们走不出十步。
A new plan formed, born of desperation and memory. He remembered the troll's raft—crude, but it had floated. "Wait here," he instructed, lowering Kaelen back to the floor. He scoured the tower and its immediate surroundings, finding a discarded, torn cloak and two relatively straight, long staves from a broken rack of spears. Working feverishly, he fashioned a crude drag-litter, lashing the staves together with the cloak to create a sling. It was far from ideal, but it was something.
一个新的计划形成了，源于绝望和记忆。他想起了巨魔的木筏——粗糙，但它能浮起来。“在这里等着，”他指示道，把凯伦放回地上。他彻底搜查了塔楼及其周围，找到一件丢弃的破斗篷和从破矛架上拆下的两根相对笔直的长杆。他狂热地工作，制作了一个粗糙的拖曳担架，用斗篷把杆子绑在一起做成一个吊床。这远非理想，但总比没有强。
Getting Kaelen onto the litter was an agonizing process, but finally, Leon was able to drag him from the cellar, out of the tower, and into the cover of the trees. The rain had started again, a cold, misty drizzle that soaked them both but also helped conceal their movement. Leon pulled the litter, his muscles burning with the effort. Every sound made him freeze, his heart in his mouth, expecting to see the hyena-like faces of gnolls emerging from the mist.
把凯伦弄上担架是个痛苦的过程，但最终，里昂把他从地窖里拖了出来，拖出塔楼，拖到树林的掩护下。雨又开始下了，冰冷雾蒙蒙的细雨浸透了两人的衣服，但也帮助掩盖了他们的行动。里昂拉着担架，肌肉因用力而灼痛。每一点声音都让他僵住，心提到嗓子眼，以为会看到豺狼人鬣狗般的脸从雾中冒出来。
He had no destination, only a direction: away from the tower, towards what he hoped was safer ground. He followed the ridge line, moving parallel to the gorge but keeping a safe distance from the edge. The world narrowed to the strain in his back, the drag of the litter, the ragged sound of Kaelen's breathing, and the constant, gnawing fear.
他没有目的地，只有一个方向：远离塔楼，朝着他希望是更安全的地方。他沿着山脊线走，与峡谷平行，但保持安全距离。世界缩小到他背部的紧绷、担架的拖曳、凯伦粗重的呼吸声和持续不断的、噬人的恐惧。
Hours blurred into one another. The light began to fade once more. Leon's strength was failing. He had to stop. He found a small, relatively dry space under a large overhanging rock, hidden by thick ferns. He dragged Kaelen into the makeshift shelter and collapsed beside him, his body trembling with exhaustion.
时间一小时一小时地模糊过去。天色再次开始变暗。里昂的力气快耗尽了。他必须停下来。他在一块悬垂的大岩石下找到了一个相对干燥的小空间，被厚厚的蕨类植物隐藏着。他把凯伦拖进这个临时避难所，瘫倒在他旁边，身体因精疲力竭而颤抖。
Kaelen was silent for a long time. Then, in the gathering darkness, he spoke, his voice thick with emotion. "You're a fool, lad. A brave, stupid fool. You should have left me."
Leon, too tired to speak, simply shook his head. He wasn't a hero. He was just a boy who couldn't walk away from someone in need. It was as simple, and as complicated, as that. As he drifted into an exhausted sleep, the cold seeping into his bones, he thought of Iris. He hoped she was safe. He hoped, somehow, she would understand why he had to delay his journey north. The path to her was now longer and more arduous than ever, but it felt, for the first time, like the right path.
凯伦沉默了很久。然后，在渐浓的黑暗中，他开口了，声音充满感情。“你是个傻瓜，孩子。一个勇敢、愚蠢的傻瓜。你该丢下我的。”
里昂累得说不出话，只是摇了摇头。他不是英雄。他只是一个无法对需要帮助的人视而不见的男孩。事情就这么简单，也这么复杂。当他精疲力竭地睡去，寒意渗入骨髓时，他想起了艾莉丝。他希望她是安全的。他希望，无论如何，她能理解他为什么必须推迟北上之旅。通往她的路现在比以往任何时候都更漫长、更艰难，但这感觉，是第一次，像是正确的路。