Chapter 41: The Cairn of the Fallen （亡者之石冢）

　　Following the path of the tauren druid was like chasing a ghost. The mountain lion left no tracks on the wind-scoured rock, and the high passes were a labyrinth of stone and shadow. Leon pushed north with a renewed, almost feverish determination, driven by the fragile hope that the druid's presence meant Iris was near. The terrain grew even more brutal. Glaciers clung to the peaks, their blue ice groaning in the wind. The air was so thin it made his head spin. He moved in a near-trance, his body operating on instinct and sheer will.

　　追随牛头人德鲁伊的踪迹如同追逐幽灵。山狮在风蚀的岩石上没有留下足迹，而高高的隘口是石头与阴影的迷宫。里昂带着一种重新燃起的、近乎狂热的决心向北推进，被德鲁伊的出现可能意味着艾莉丝就在附近的脆弱希望所驱使。地势变得更加严酷。冰川紧附在山峰上，蓝色的冰在风中发出呻吟。空气稀薄得让他头晕目眩。他近乎恍惚地移动着，身体依靠本能和纯粹的意志力运作。

　　Days blurred into one another. He lost track of time. His waybread was gone, reduced to a few crumbs at the bottom of his pack. He survived on meltwater and the tough, stringy flesh of a high-altitude lichen that left a bitter taste in his mouth. The cold was a constant, gnawing presence. His cough worsened, a dry, hacking sound that echoed in the vast silence. He was pushing himself to the absolute limit, and he knew it.

　　日子一天天模糊不清。他失去了时间概念。他的旅行面包吃完了，只剩下背包底部的碎屑。他靠融雪水和一种在高海拔地区生长的、口感坚韧、带有苦味的苔藓维持生命。寒冷无时无刻不在侵蚀着他。他的咳嗽加剧了，干涩、刺耳的声音在广阔的寂静中回荡。他在把自己推向绝对极限，他自己也知道。

　　One evening, as the sun cast long, distorted shadows across a high plateau, he stumbled upon a sight that stopped him in his tracks. It was a cairn—a pile of stones carefully stacked into a conical shape. But it was not a natural formation. At its base, someone had placed a small, smooth river stone, and on it was carved a symbol: a delicate, stylized leaf, unmistakably night elven in design.

　　一天傍晚，当太阳在一个高地上投下长长的、扭曲的影子时，他偶然发现了一个景象，让他停下了脚步。那是一个石冢——一堆石头被仔细地堆成圆锥形。但这并非自然形成。在它的底部，有人放了一块光滑的河石，上面刻着一个符号：一片精致的、风格化的叶子，设计上无疑是暗夜精灵的风格。

　　His heart leaped into his throat. He fell to his knees, his trembling fingers tracing the carving. It was fresh. The edges of the cut were sharp, not weathered. Someone had been here recently. Iris. It had to be. The symbol was a message, a sign left for those who knew how to read it. A marker of passage. A sign of hope.

　　他的心一下子提到了嗓子眼。他跪倒在地，颤抖的手指抚摸着雕刻。痕迹是新的。切割的边缘很锋利，没有风化。最近有人来过这里。艾莉丝。一定是她。这个符号是一个信息，一个留给懂得解读它的人的标志。一个路标。一个希望的标志。

　　He scanned the horizon, his eyes straining against the fading light. The cairn was placed at the edge of the plateau, overlooking a deep, U-shaped valley below. And there, on the opposite side of the valley, he saw it—a faint, almost imperceptible wisp of smoke rising from a cluster of pines huddled against the cliff face. A campfire.

　　他扫视着地平线，眼睛在渐弱的光线下努力辨认。石冢位于高原的边缘，俯瞰着下方一个深深的U形山谷。而在山谷的另一边，他看到了——一缕微弱得几乎难以察觉的轻烟，从紧贴悬崖的一丛松林中升起。是营火的烟。

　　Tears of relief and exhaustion welled in his eyes, freezing on his lashes. He wasn't alone. She was here. She was alive. The despair that had been crushing him evaporated, replaced by a surge of adrenaline that made him lightheaded. He had found her. Or at least, he had found her trail.

　　宽慰和精疲力竭的泪水涌上眼眶，在睫毛上结冰。他不是一个人。她在这里。她还活着。一直压垮他的绝望消散了，取而代之的是一股让他头晕目眩的肾上腺素激增。他找到她了。或者至少，他找到了她的踪迹。

　　The descent into the valley was a reckless, sliding scramble down a steep scree slope. He didn't care about stealth anymore. He had to reach that fire. Stones clattered around him, but he paid them no mind. The distance that had seemed so vast from the plateau closed with agonizing slowness. Night fell completely, but the moon rose, bathing the valley in a pale, silvery light that turned the world to shades of grey and black.

　　下到山谷的过程是一次鲁莽的、连滚带爬的陡峭碎石坡滑降。他不再关心隐蔽了。他必须到达那堆篝火。石头在他周围哗啦啦地滚落，但他毫不在意。从高原上看似乎很远的距离，以折磨人的缓慢速度缩短。天完全黑了，但月亮升起来了，用苍白、银色的光芒笼罩着山谷，将世界变成了灰色和黑色的阴影。

　　He reached the valley floor, his legs shaking from the descent. The smoke was clearer now, a dark column against the starry sky. He followed it, his breath catching in his chest. The pines were thick here, their branches creating a canopy that blocked out the moonlight. He moved by feel, his hand on the rough bark of the trees, guided by the smell of burning pine.

　　他到达了谷底，双腿因下坡而颤抖。烟更清晰了，在星空下是一道黑色的烟柱。他跟着烟走，呼吸卡在胸口。这里的松树很茂密，树枝形成的树冠挡住了月光。他凭感觉移动，手扶着粗糙的树皮，被燃烧松木的气味引导着。

　　And then he saw it. A small clearing. A low fire burned in a ring of stones, its flames casting dancing shadows. And sitting by the fire, her back to him, was a slender figure with long, dark hair that shimmered in the firelight. She was wrapped in a cloak of deep blue, and her pointed ears were just visible.

　　然后他看到了。一小片林间空地。一圈石头中间燃着一堆低矮的篝火，火焰投下舞动的影子。而坐在火堆旁，背对着他的，是一个苗条的身影，有着在火光中闪烁的深色长发。她裹着一件深蓝色的斗篷，尖耳朵隐约可见。

　　"Iris?" His voice was a hoarse, cracked whisper, barely audible over the crackle of the fire.

　　The figure stiffened. She turned slowly, her movements fluid and silent. The firelight illuminated her face. It was her. But it wasn't the girl he remembered. Her face was thinner, her eyes shadowed with a weariness that spoke of hardships equal to his own. But they were the same eyes, filled with the light of the stars and a shock of recognition that mirrored his own.

　　“艾莉丝？”他的声音嘶哑、干裂，在篝火的噼啪声中几乎听不见。

　　那个身影僵住了。她慢慢地转过身，动作流畅而无声。火光映亮了她的脸。是她。但又不是他记忆中的那个女孩。她的脸更瘦了，眼睛带着疲惫的阴影，诉说着与他同样艰辛的经历。但那是同一双眼睛，充满了星光和与他相呼应的、震惊的认出神情。

　　For a long moment, they just stared at each other, the months of separation and the miles of wilderness stretching between them like a chasm. The wind sighed through the pines. The fire popped and crackled.

　　在很长一段时间里，他们只是凝视着对方，几个月的分离和数英里的荒野像鸿沟一样横亘在他们之间。风在松林间叹息。火堆噼啪作响。

　　Then, a slow, incredulous smile touched Iris's lips. "Leon?" she breathed, her voice as soft as the rustle of leaves. "By Elune... is it really you?"

　　然后，一丝缓慢的、难以置信的微笑触动了艾莉丝的嘴唇。“里昂？”她轻声说，声音如同树叶的沙沙声般轻柔。“以艾露恩之名……真的是你吗？”

　　He stumbled forward, his legs giving way, and collapsed to his knees by the fire. He was crying now, great, heaving sobs that he couldn't control. The antler fell from his numb fingers onto the soft pine needles.

　　他蹒跚着向前，双腿发软，瘫倒在火堆旁。他现在哭了，无法控制地抽泣着。鹿角从他麻木的手指间滑落，掉在柔软的松针上。

　　Iris was at his side in an instant, her cool hands on his shoulders. "Shhh," she whispered, her own eyes glistening. "You're safe now. You're here."

　　艾莉丝立刻来到他身边，冰凉的手放在他肩上。“嘘，”她低声说，自己的眼睛也闪着泪光。“你现在安全了。你在这里。”

　　He looked up at her, the months of fear, loneliness, and struggle pouring out of him. "I looked for you," he choked out. "I followed the north star."

　　他抬头看着她，几个月的恐惧、孤独和挣扎从他心中倾泻而出。“我找过你，”他哽咽着说。“我跟着北极星。”

　　Iris's smile widened, though tears traced paths through the dust on her cheeks. "And I," she said softly, "left markers for the moon to guide you." She gestured to the cairn on the plateau high above. "I felt... I felt you were coming."

　　艾莉丝的笑容更灿烂了，尽管泪水在她沾满灰尘的脸颊上留下了痕迹。“而我，”她轻声说，“留下了标记，让月亮指引你。”她指了指高高原上的石冢。“我感觉……我感觉你来了。”

　　They sat by the fire as the moon climbed higher, the silence between them now a comfortable, shared thing, filled with the unspoken understanding of two souls who had walked through fire and found each other in the ashes. The long journey was over. A new one was just beginning.

　　他们坐在火堆旁，月亮越升越高，他们之间的沉默现在成了一种舒适的、共享的东西，充满了两个灵魂之间无言的默契，他们穿越了火焰，在灰烬中找到了彼此。漫长的旅程结束了。一个新的旅程才刚刚开始。