Chapter 52: The First Step on a New Path （新路上的第一步）

　　The first few weeks after the guardians' departure were a time of quiet industry and profound adjustment. The high valley, now cleansed of its blight, felt different. The air was crisp and clean, carrying the scent of damp earth and the faint, sweet aroma of the silver-green sapling. The oppressive silence was gone, replaced by the natural sounds of the wind sighing through the rocks and the distant cry of an eagle.

　　守护者们离开后的头几周，是一段安静的劳作和深刻调整的时期。高山谷地现在清除了瘟疫，感觉不同了。空气清新洁净，带着潮湿泥土的气息和银绿色树苗淡淡的甜香。压抑的寂静消失了，取而代之的是风过岩石的叹息和远处鹰唳的自然声响。

　　Iris threw herself into her new role with a quiet intensity. Under Laeron's brief but insightful guidance before he left, she had learned the basics of tending the nascent grove. She cleared away the larger chunks of dead, brittle rock around the sapling, allowing the tough mountain grasses and mosses to take root. She built a small, simple lean-to against a south-facing rock wall, using branches and a spare piece of waxed canvas from her pack. It was not a home, but it was a shelter—a beginning.

　　艾莉丝以一种沉静的专注投入了她的新角色。在拉隆离开前短暂但富有洞见的指导下，她学会了照料新生林地的基本知识。她清理了树苗周围较大的、易碎的枯石，让坚韧的山草和苔藓得以生根。她在一面朝南的岩壁旁用树枝和背包里的一块备用蜡帆布搭了一个简陋的窝棚。这不是家，但这是一个庇护所——一个开始。

　　Leon helped where he could, his hands more suited to moving stones than to the delicate work of nurturing plants. But his presence was a comfort. In the evenings, they would sit by a small fire, sharing the last of their supplies and planning for the future. The dynamic between them had shifted. They were partners now, bound by a shared purpose that went beyond survival.

　　里昂在力所能及的地方帮忙，他的手更适合搬石头而不是照料植物的精细活。但他的存在是一种慰藉。晚上，他们会坐在一小堆篝火旁，分享最后的补给，规划未来。他们之间的相处模式改变了。他们现在是伙伴，被一个超越生存的共同目标联系在一起。

　　"The first thing we need is a steady supply of food," Leon said one evening, studying Brann's map by the firelight. "I can make the trip down to Lakeshire. Trade some of the ore samples Brann left for flour, salt, seeds." He pointed to a route on the map that skirted the worst of the orc-infested areas. "It should take me a week, maybe two, round trip."

　　“我们首先需要稳定的食物来源，”一天晚上，里昂在火光下研究着布兰恩的地图说。“我可以去一趟湖畔镇。用布兰恩留下的一些矿石样本换面粉、盐、种子。”他指着地图上一条绕过兽人出没最严重区域的路线。“往返大概需要一周，也许两周。”

　　Iris looked up from the small herb garden she was cultivating near the lean-to, her expression worried. "The roads are dangerous. You'll be alone."

　　Leon met her gaze. "I've been alone before. And I won't be just a lost boy this time. I have a purpose. I have a place to come back to." He gestured around the valley. "This is our home now. I need to help provide for it."

　　艾莉丝从她在窝棚旁打理的小药草园抬起头，表情担忧。“路上很危险。你会一个人。”

　　里昂迎上她的目光。“我以前也一个人过。而且这次我不再是个迷路的男孩了。我有目标。我有地方可以回来。”他指了指山谷四周。“这是我们的家。我需要帮忙维持它。”

　　The word "home" hung in the air between them. It felt true. This scarred, beautiful, isolated valley was more of a home to them now than Goldshire or Teldrassil had ever been. It was a home they had fought for, a home they were building with their own hands.

　　“家”这个词悬在他们之间。它感觉是真实的。这个伤痕累累、美丽而偏僻的山谷，现在对他们来说比闪金镇或泰达希尔更像一个家。这是一个他们为之战斗过的家，一个他们用双手建立的家。

　　Iris nodded slowly. "Be careful. The satyrs may have been scattered, but their masters are still out there."

　　"I will," he promised. He took out the smooth antler and the wind-touched stone, placing them carefully in a small, hollowed-out niche in the rock near her lean-to. "I'll travel lighter. And I'll leave these with you. For safekeeping."

　　艾莉丝缓缓点头。“小心点。萨特可能被驱散了，但他们的主子还在外面。”

　　“我会的，”他承诺道。他拿出光滑的鹿角和风语石，小心地放在她窝棚旁岩石上一个挖空的小壁龛里。“我轻装上路。这些留给你。保管好。”

　　It was a symbolic gesture, a way of saying he would return. Iris understood. She placed her hand over the stones, her touch gentle. "They will be here when you come back."

　　这是一个象征性的姿态，一种表明他会回来的方式。艾莉丝明白了。她把手放在石头上，动作轻柔。“你回来时，它们会在这里。”

　　The morning Leon set out was clear and cold. He carried a light pack with a bedroll, water, and a few trade goods. He wore the hunting knife at his belt, its blade sharpened to a fine edge. At the edge of the valley, he turned and looked back. Iris stood by the sapling, a small, solitary figure against the vastness of the mountains. She raised a hand in farewell.

　　里昂出发的那个早晨，晴朗而寒冷。他背着一个轻便的背包，里面有铺盖卷、水和一些交易品。腰带上挂着猎刀，刀刃磨得锋利。在山谷边缘，他转身回望。艾莉丝站在树苗旁，在广阔山峦的映衬下是一个渺小而孤独的身影。她抬手告别。

　　Leon raised his hand in return, then turned and started down the trail. The path ahead was long and uncertain, but for the first time in his life, he was not walking away from something. He was walking towards something. He was a messenger, a provider, a link between a hidden sanctuary and the wider world. The boy from Goldshire was gone. In his place was a young man with a mission.

　　里昂也抬手回应，然后转身踏上小径。前方的路漫长而不确定，但这是他生命中第一次，他不是在逃离什么。他是在走向什么。他是一个信使，一个供给者，一个连接隐秘圣所和广阔世界的纽带。来自闪金镇的男孩消失了。取而代之的是一个有使命的年轻人。

　　The journey to Lakeshire was easier than his previous travels. He moved with a new confidence, his senses sharpened by experience. He avoided the main orc patrols, using the high ground and the knowledge Brann had imparted. When he reached the town, the guards at the gate regarded him with curiosity. He was no longer the ragged, traumatized boy who had arrived with the dwarves. He was lean and weathered, with a calm authority in his eyes.

　　去湖畔镇的旅程比他之前的旅行轻松。他带着新的自信移动，感官因经验而敏锐。他避开兽人的主要巡逻队，利用高地优势和布兰恩传授的知识。当他到达镇子时，门口的守卫好奇地打量他。他不再是那个和矮人一起来时衣衫褴褛、饱受创伤的男孩了。他精干而饱经风霜，眼中带着沉静的威严。

　　He traded the ore for supplies, adding a few extra items: a proper cooking pot, a warm blanket, and a small pouch of apple seeds. He also purchased a sheet of parchment and a charcoal stick. That night, in a quiet corner of the inn, he wrote a short, careful letter to his father. He did not reveal the location of the grove or the full extent of his adventures. He simply said he was safe, he was well, and he had found a purpose that took him beyond the borders of Elwynn. He asked for his father's understanding and promised to write again. It was a first step in bridging the chasm between his old life and his new one.

　　他用矿石换补给，还添了几样东西：一个合适的锅、一条暖和的毯子和一小袋苹果种子。他还买了一张羊皮纸和一根炭笔。那天晚上，在旅店一个安静的角落，他写了一封简短而谨慎的信给父亲。他没有透露林地的位置或他冒险的全部经历。他只是说他安全、健康，并找到了一个让他超越艾尔文边界的目标。他请求父亲的理解，并承诺会再写信。这是在连接旧生活和新生活之间鸿沟的第一步。

　　The return journey felt shorter, his steps light with anticipation. As he climbed back into the high peaks, the air grew thin and cold, but it felt like breathing home. When he finally crested the ridge and looked down into the valley, he saw that Iris had not been idle. A small, terraced garden now stood near the lean-to, and a thin wisp of smoke rose from a fire pit. She was waiting for him, her face breaking into a smile as he approached.

　　归程感觉更短了，他的脚步因期待而轻快。当他爬回高峰时，空气变得稀薄寒冷，但感觉像在呼吸家乡的空气。当他最终登上山脊，俯瞰山谷时，他看到艾莉丝并没有闲着。窝棚旁现在有了一个小梯田花园，一个火坑升起一缕细烟。她在等他，当他走近时，她脸上绽开笑容。

　　He dropped his pack and showed her the supplies. Her eyes lit up at the seeds and the cooking pot. They were small things, but they were the foundations of a life. That evening, they shared a meal cooked in the new pot—a simple stew, but it tasted like a feast. They sat by the fire, the stars blazing overhead, the sapling glowing softly in the darkness below.

　　他放下背包，给她看补给品。看到种子和锅，她的眼睛亮了。都是小东西，但它们是生活的基础。那天晚上，他们用新锅做了一顿饭——简单的炖菜，但吃起来像盛宴。他们坐在火边，头顶繁星闪耀，下方的树苗在黑暗中发出柔和的光芒。

　　The grove was no longer just a place they had saved. It was a place they were building. Their journey had come full circle, ending not with a return, but with a beginning. The wind whispered through the pines, carrying the promise of tomorrow.

　　树林不再只是他们拯救的地方。它是他们正在建设的地方。他们的旅程圆满结束，不是以回归告终，而是以开始告终。风在松林间低语，带来明天的承诺。