Chapter 6: The Tainted Wind （污浊之风）

　　The rhythmic clang was a ghost in the air, a metallic heartbeat that grew steadily louder as the river carried them south. The raft, a clumsy contraption of logs and frayed rope, felt impossibly fragile on the widening water. The comforting embrace of the forest had fallen away entirely now. The banks were lower, choked with reeds and a sickly-looking yellow moss Leon had never seen before. The air no longer smelled of damp earth and pine, but carried that same acrid tang they had noticed earlier, now unmistakably the smell of coal smoke and something fouler—like spoiled eggs and chemicals.

　　那有节奏的叮当声是空气中的幽灵，一种金属的心跳，随着河流载他们南下而稳定地变响。木筏，这个由木头和磨损的绳子构成的笨拙装置，在越来越宽的水面上感觉脆弱得不可思议。森林那令人安慰的怀抱现已完全消失。河岸变低了，布满芦苇和一种里昂从未见过的、病恹恹的黄色苔藓。空气不再有潮湿泥土和松树的气味，而是带着他们早先注意到的那股同样的刺鼻气味，现在可以确定是煤烟和更恶臭的东西——像臭鸡蛋和化学品的味道。

　　Iris sat at the front of the raft, perfectly still, her body tense as a drawn bowstring. Her keen eyes scanned the western bank, from where the sound and the stench emanated. Her pointed ears twitched with every distant shout and clang that rode the wind. Leon, using the pole to keep them in the current, felt a deep, primal dread building in his gut. This was not the wild, natural danger of gnolls or orcs. This was something shaped by intelligent hands, and that made it far more terrifying.

　　艾莉丝坐在木筏前端，完全静止，身体像拉满的弓弦一样紧绷。她敏锐的眼睛扫视着西岸，声音和恶臭就是从那边传来的。她那尖尖的耳朵随着风中传来的每一声遥远的呼喊和叮当声而抽动。里昂用长竿使他们保持在河流中央，感到一种深深的、原始的本能恐惧在腹中积聚。这不是豺狼人或兽人那种野性的、自然的危险。这是由智慧生物塑造的东西，这使它更加可怕。

　　"What is it?" he finally whispered, the words feeling inadequate in the face of the looming noise.

　　Iris did not turn around. "The scent of industry. But not Dwarven. Not Gnome." She paused, her voice dropping even lower. "This is the work of the Forsaken. Or those who serve them." She said the name with a cold distaste that made Leon shiver. The Forsaken. The undead. His father had spoken of them in hushed, horrified tones—the walking corpses of Lordaeron, enslaved to a dark will.

　　“那是什么？”他终于低声问道，在这逼近的噪音面前，话语显得苍白无力。

　　艾莉丝没有回头。“工业的气味。但不是矮人的。也不是侏儒的。”她顿了顿，声音压得更低。“这是被遗忘者。或者为他们服务的人干的。”她说出这个名字时带着一种冰冷的厌恶，让里昂不寒而栗。被遗忘者。亡灵。他父亲曾用压抑、惊恐的语气谈起过他们——洛丹伦的行尸走肉，被黑暗意志奴役。

　　The river curved, and the source of the commotion came into view. On the west bank, a scene of bleak industry was carved into the landscape. Wooden scaffolds and rickety towers stood against the sky, spewing thick, black smoke from metal pipes. Figures moved like ants through the haze—some humanoid but moving with a stiff, jerky gait, others bulkier, trailing greenish vapors. Vats of bubbling, foul-looking liquid sat over fires, and the land around the complex was scorched and barren, as if poisoned. This was no simple forge; it was an outpost, a blight upon the land.

　　河流转弯，喧闹的源头映入眼帘。西岸上，一片凄凉的工业景象被硬生生嵌入地貌。木制脚手架和摇摇欲坠的塔楼矗立在天际，从金属管中喷出浓密的黑烟。一些身影在烟雾中像蚂蚁一样移动——有些是人形，但步态僵硬抽动，其他更笨重，拖着绿色的蒸汽。大桶冒着泡、看起来污浊的液体架在火上，建筑周围的土地焦黑荒芜，仿佛被毒害了。这绝不是简单的铁匠铺；这是一个前哨站，是大地上的一块腐化之痕。

　　"Don't look," Iris said sharply, but it was too late. Leon had seen a group of the figures dragging a cart piled with unidentifiable, meaty scraps towards a large, grinding machine. The sight, combined with the stench, turned his stomach. This was a different kind of horror from the gnoll's savagery. This was cold, systematic, and utterly devoid of life.

　　“别看，”艾莉丝严厉地说，但太晚了。里昂已经看到一群那样的人形拖着一辆堆满无法辨认的肉块的手推车，走向一个巨大的研磨机。那景象，加上恶臭，让他胃里翻腾。这是一种与豺狼人的野蛮不同的恐怖。这是冰冷的、系统性的、完全缺乏生机的。

　　He focused on poling, putting his back into it, trying to put distance between them and the nightmarish settlement. The current, however, seemed to slow, as if reluctant to carry them past this place. They were close enough now to hear the occasional guttural command shouted in the Common Tongue, but with a hollow, echoing quality that was utterly unnatural.

　　他专注于撑筏，用上全身力气，试图拉开他们与那噩梦般聚落之间的距离。然而，水流似乎变慢了，仿佛不愿载他们经过这个地方。他们现在近得足以偶尔听到用通用语喊出的粗哑命令，但带着一种空洞、回响的特质，极不自然。

　　A sudden, louder clanging erupted—a bell or a piece of metal being struck repeatedly. A signal. On the bank, a hundred yards downstream, two figures emerged from a makeshift watchtower. They were tall and lean, clad in stained leather armor. Their faces were hidden by hoods, but their posture was wrong. They moved with a stiff, jointless grace that was profoundly unsettling. One of them pointed a gloved hand directly at their raft.

　　突然，一声更响的叮当声爆发——是钟声或一块金属被反复敲击。是信号。下游一百码的岸上，两个身影从一座临时瞭望塔里出现。他们又高又瘦，穿着污渍斑斑的皮甲。脸藏在兜帽下，但他们的姿态不对。他们以一种僵硬的、无关节的优雅移动着，令人极度不安。其中一个用戴手套的手直接指向他们的木筏。

　　"They've seen us," Leon breathed, his blood running cold.

　　"Get down!" Iris hissed. They both crouched low on the raft, making themselves as small as possible. The current was their only hope. Leon prayed to the Light, to any god that might be listening, that the Forsaken on the bank would deem a rickety raft with two children on it beneath their notice.

　　“他们看到我们了，”里昂低语道，血液都凉了。

　　“趴下！”艾莉丝嘶声道。他们都蹲伏在木筏上，尽可能缩小的身体。水流是他们唯一的希望。里昂向圣光祈祷，向任何可能聆听的神明祈祷，希望岸上的被遗忘者会认为一只载着两个孩子的破木筏不值得他们注意。

　　For a long, agonizing minute, nothing happened. The only sounds were the gurgle of the water and the distant industry. Then, a crossbow bolt hissed over their heads and struck the water with a sharp thwack, ten feet ahead of them. It was a warning shot. A command, shouted in that hollow voice, carried across the water: "Halt and be identified!"

　　漫长而痛苦的一分钟，什么也没发生。只有流水的潺潺声和远处的工业噪音。接着，一支弩箭嘶嘶地从他们头顶飞过，在木筏前方十英尺处砰地一声扎进水里。是警告性的一箭。一个命令，用那空洞的声音喊着，传过水面：“停下，表明身份！”

　　Leon looked at Iris, his eyes wide with terror. Poling faster was useless. They were sitting ducks.

　　Iris's face was pale, but her eyes were calculating. She looked from the armed figures on the bank to the river ahead. The current was picking up slightly, leading towards a denser patch of reeds and a cluster of half-submerged trees on the opposite bank—the eastern bank, which was still wooded and, for the moment, silent.

　　里昂看着艾莉丝，眼睛因恐惧而睁得老大。更快地撑竿是没用的。他们成了活靶子。

　　艾莉丝脸色苍白，但她的眼睛在算计。她的目光从岸上武装的身影扫向面前的河流。水流稍微急了一些，流向对岸一片更茂密的芦苇丛和一堆半淹没的树木——东岸，那边仍有树林，而且暂时是安静的。

　　"When I say," she whispered, her voice taut, "we go into the water. Deep as you can. Hold your breath and let the current take you. Swim for the reeds on the other side. Do not come up for air until you are among them. Understand?"

　　Leon nodded, his heart hammering against his ribs. It was a desperate plan. The water was icy, and the current could dash them against the submerged trees. But staying on the raft meant a crossbow bolt or worse.

　　“听我说，”她低语道，声音紧绷，“我们跳进水里。尽可能潜深。屏住呼吸，让水流带你。游向对岸的芦苇丛。没到芦苇里之前不要上来换气。明白吗？”

　　里昂点头，心脏狂跳着撞击肋骨。这是个孤注一掷的计划。水冰冷刺骨，水流可能把他们撞向沉树。但留在木筏上意味着弩箭或更糟。

　　Another bolt whizzed past, closer this time. "Now!" Iris commanded.

　　In unison, they rolled off the sides of the raft, plunging into the shocking cold of the river. The world vanished into a churning, murky green. Leon held his breath, kicking with all his strength, letting the powerful current grab him. He prayed Iris was right beside him as the darkness of the deep water and the tainted wind of the blighted shore were left behind, replaced by the silent, desperate struggle beneath the surface.

　　又一支弩箭嗖地飞过，这次更近了。“现在！”艾莉丝命令道。

　　他们同时从木筏两侧滚下，投入刺骨寒冷的河水中。世界消失在翻腾、浑浊的绿色里。里昂屏住呼吸，用尽全力蹬腿，让强大的水流抓住他。他祈祷艾莉丝就在身边，因为深水的黑暗和被污染海岸的污浊之风被抛在身后，取而代之的是水下无声而绝望的挣扎。