Chapter 38: The Ferry at Dawn （黎明渡船）

　　Dawn over Lake Everstill was a spectral affair. A thick, white mist clung to the water, swallowing the far shore and muffling all sound. The world was reduced to the creaking of the wooden dock under Leon's feet and the gentle, hypnotic slap of water against the pilings. The ferry, The Lake Sprite, was a broad, flat-bottomed barge that looked as ancient as the hills it served. Its captain, a grizzled old man with a face like weathered leather and a pipe clenched between his teeth, moved about with a slow, deliberate economy of motion.

　　止水湖上的黎明如梦似幻。浓重的白雾紧贴水面，吞没了远处的湖岸，压抑了所有声音。世界只剩下脚下木码头的吱嘎声和湖水催眠般轻拍桩基的声音。渡船“湖中精灵”号是一艘宽大的平底驳船，看起来和它服务的群山一样古老。船长是个头发花白的老人，脸像风干的皮革，牙齿间叼着烟斗，动作缓慢而精准。

　　Leon was the only passenger. He paid his fare with a coin from Baelgun's pouch, the clink of silver unnaturally loud in the hushed world. The captain nodded, his eyes appraising the young traveler with a flicker of curiosity but no questions. He untied the ropes with practiced hands. "Sit tight, lad. Fog's thick, but I've run this route for forty years. Know it like the back of my hand."

　　里昂是唯一的乘客。他用巴尔贡钱袋里的一枚硬币付了船费，银币的叮当声在这个寂静的世界里异常响亮。船长点点头，眼睛评估着这位年轻旅客，闪过一丝好奇但没发问。他用熟练的手解开绳索。“坐稳了，小子。雾很浓，但我跑这条线四十年了。熟得像手背。”

　　The barge slid away from the dock with a low groan, its progress almost silent as it was swallowed by the mist. Lakeshire vanished behind them in moments, its lights extinguished by the thick white veil. Leon stood at the railing, watching the water part before the bow. The air was cold and damp, carrying the clean, deep smell of the lake. It was a journey into the unknown, a passage from one world to another. The familiar, if troubled, life of the Alliance was receding with the southern shore. Ahead lay the wild, contested lands of the Redridge Mountains.

　　驳船低吟着滑离码头，几乎悄无声息地前进，被雾气吞没。湖畔镇瞬间消失在身后，它的灯火被厚厚的白色帷幕熄灭。里昂站在栏杆边，看着船头破开水面。空气寒冷潮湿，带着湖水纯净深邃的气息。这是一次驶向未知的旅程，从一个世界到另一个世界的通道。联盟熟悉（尽管麻烦不断）的生活正随着南岸远去。前方是赤脊山狂野、争夺中的土地。

　　He thought of Elara and her son. He thought of Kaelen, safe in his bed. He had done a good thing. But that chapter was closed. The antler in his pocket felt heavy. The charm from Elara was tucked safely beside it. They were his talismans, his reasons for moving forward.

　　他想起了艾拉和她的儿子。想起了凯伦，安全地躺在床上。他做了一件好事。但那章结束了。口袋里的鹿角感觉很重。艾拉给的护身符安全地放在旁边。它们是护身符，是他前进的理由。

　　The crossing took over an hour. As they neared the northern shore, the mist began to thin, shredding into tatters to reveal a stark, rocky coastline. The mountains rose abruptly from the water's edge, their slopes thick with dark pines. There were no welcoming towns here, no docks. The captain steered the barge towards a narrow, gravelly beach where a single, weathered rowboat was pulled up on the shore.

　　渡湖花了一个多小时。当他们接近北岸时，雾开始变薄，碎成破片，露出嶙峋多石的海岸线。山脉从水边陡然升起，山坡上长满深色的松树。这里没有欢迎的城镇，没有码头。船长将驳船驶向一片狭窄的砾石海滩，岸上只搁着一条破旧的划艇。

　　"This is as far as I go," the captain said, cutting the engine. The sudden silence was profound. "The road's up that way," he pointed to a faint track leading away from the beach into the trees. "Leads to the old orcish outposts, if you're fool enough to go that way. Or up into the high passes, if you've got a death wish." He gave Leon a long, hard look. "You sure you know where you're headed, son?"

　　“我就到这儿了，”船长说着，熄了引擎。突如其来的寂静很深。“路在那边，”他指着一条从海滩通向树林的模糊小径。“通向旧的兽人前哨站，如果你够傻要去那儿的话。或者上高山隘口，如果你有寻死的念头。”他长久而严肃地看着里昂。“你确定知道要去哪儿吗，孩子？”

　　Leon met his gaze. "North," he said simply.

　　The captain grunted. "North is a big place. Watch yourself. The things that live in these hills... they ain't like the gnolls down south. They're bigger. Meaner." He helped Leon off the barge onto the stony beach. "Good luck to you."

　　里昂迎上他的目光。“向北，”他简单地说。

　　船长咕哝一声。“北边地方大了。当心点。住这些山里的东西……可不像南边的豺狼人。它们更大。更凶。”他帮里昂下船到石滩上。“祝你好运。”

　　With a final nod, the captain pushed his barge back into the water, the engine coughing to life. The Lake Sprite turned and disappeared back into the mist, leaving Leon utterly alone on the silent shore. The only sounds were the cry of a lone eagle high above and the wind sighing through the pines.

　　最后点了一下头，船长把驳船推回水中，引擎咳嗽着启动。“湖中精灵”号调头消失在雾中，留下里昂完全孤身一人在寂静的岸边。唯一的声音是高空孤鹰的鸣叫和风过松林的叹息。

　　The air was different here. Sharper, colder. It carried the scent of pine and cold stone, and something else—a faint, acrid tang of smoke that was not from a hearth. Orcish fires. The captain's warning echoed in his mind. He was on the edge of truly hostile territory.

　　这里的空气不同了。更凛冽，更冷。带着松树和冷石的气息，还有别的——一丝不是来自炉火的刺鼻烟味。兽人的篝火。船长的警告在他脑中回响。他站在真正敌对领土的边缘。

　　He shouldered his pack and started up the track. It was steep and overgrown, barely more than a game trail. Every sense was on high alert. This was no longer a journey through the fringes of his own world. This was an incursion into the wild heart of the continent, a place where the rules of Goldshire meant nothing.

　　他背起背包，开始沿小径上行。路很陡，杂草丛生，几乎只是兽径。每个感官都高度警觉。这不再是在他自己世界边缘的旅程。这是对大陆荒野中心的闯入，一个闪金镇的规则毫无意义的地方。

　　He walked for hours, the sun climbing but doing little to warm the deep shadows under the trees. The forest was immense and watchful. He saw signs of large predators—massive paw prints in the soft earth, scratches on tree trunks at a height he couldn't reach. Once, he heard a deep, guttural roar that echoed through the valleys, a sound that was neither wolf nor bear. It was a sound of pure, primal power that made the hair on his arms stand up. He moved like a shadow, using every trick Iris had taught him.

　　他走了几个小时，太阳升高但几乎无法温暖林下的深影。森林广阔而警觉。他看到了大型捕食者的迹象——软泥地上的巨大爪印、他够不到高度的树干上的抓痕。有一次，他听到一声低沉的、从喉咙发出的咆哮在山谷中回荡，那声音既不是狼也不是熊。那是纯粹原始力量的声音，让他手臂上的汗毛竖起。他像影子一样移动，运用艾莉丝教他的每一个技巧。

　　As evening approached, he found a defensible spot—a small cave behind a waterfall that cascaded down a rocky cliff. The sound of the water would mask any noise he made. He crawled inside, the space just large enough for him to sit. He ate a cold meal of waybread and dried meat, washing it down with cold water from the stream. He didn't dare light a fire.

　　傍晚时分，他找到了一个可防御的地点——岩石悬崖上瀑布后面的一个小洞穴。水声会掩盖他发出的任何声音。他爬进去，空间刚好够他坐下。他吃了一顿旅行面包和肉干的冷餐，用溪水送下。他不敢生火。

　　Sitting in the dark, listening to the thunder of the waterfall, he felt a profound isolation that was different from anything he had known. This was the price of his quest. This was the distance between himself and the girl with moonlight in her eyes. But as he clutched the antler, he also felt a fierce, stubborn determination. He had come this far. He would go further. For her.

　　坐在黑暗中，听着瀑布的轰鸣，他感到一种前所未有的深刻孤独。这是他追寻的代价。这是他与眼中蕴含月光的女孩之间的距离。但当他紧握鹿角时，他也感到一种猛烈而固执的决心。他已经走了这么远。他会走得更远。为了她。

　　The night in the mountains was alive with unseen dangers. But for the first time, Leon was not just running from something. He was moving towards something. And that made all the difference.

　　山中的夜晚充满看不见的危险。但第一次，里昂不仅仅是在逃离什么。他是在走向什么。而这改变了一切。