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Bran looked up at the sky.
布蘭抬頭望向天空。
It had been a beautiful crisp clear autumn day, sunny and almost warm,
這是個美麗的秋日，晴朗清爽，陽光充沛，幾乎算得上溫暖，
but there were dark clouds off to the west now, that was true, and the wind seemed to be picking up.
但黎德說得沒錯，西方出現黑壓壓的云層，風也似乎漸漸增強。
“There’s no roof on the inn and only the two walls,” he pointed out.
“這客棧沒有屋頂，只有兩面墻，”他指出，
“We should go out to the holdfast.”
“我們還是去外面的塔樓要塞吧。”
“Hodor,” said Hodor.
“阿多。”阿多說。
Maybe he agreed.
或許他也同意。
“We have no boat, Bran.”
“我們沒船，布蘭。”
Meera poked through the leaves idly with her frog spear.
梅拉懶洋洋地用捕蛙矛戳著層層樹葉。
“There’s a causeway.
“那兒有個堤道。
A stone causeway, hidden under the water.
一條石頭堤道，藏于水下。
We could walk out.”
我們可以走過去。”
They could, anyway;
或者說“他們”可以——
he would have to ride on Hodor’s back, but at least he’d stay dry that way.
他得坐在阿多背上。也罷，至少保證身體干燥。
The Reeds exchanged a look.
黎德姐弟交換一個眼神。
“How do you know that?” asked Jojen.
“你怎知道？”玖健問，
“Have you been here before, my prince?”
“你來過這里嗎，王子殿下？”
“No.
“沒有，
Old Nan told me.
是老奶媽說的。
The holdfast has a golden crown, see?”
那塔樓以金冠為頂，看到沒？”
He pointed across the lake.
他指向湖對面
You could see patches of flaking gold paint up around the crenellations.
你可以看到裂縫周圍有一塊塊剝落的金色油漆。
“Queen Alysanne slept there, so they painted the merlons gold in her honor.”
“亞莉珊王后曾在那里睡過，因此他們將墻齒漆成金色，以為致敬。”
“A causeway?”
“堤道？”
Jojen studied the lake.
玖健仔細觀察湖面，
“You are certain?”
“你肯定？”
“Certain,” said Bran.
“肯定。”布蘭說。
Meera found the foot of it easily enough, once she knew to look;
梅拉仔細偵察，很容易便找到了竅門：
a stone pathway three feet wide, leading right out into the lake.
原來這是條三尺寬的過道，直通湖中央。
She took them out step by careful step, probing ahead with her frog spear.
她用捕蛙矛在前小心翼翼地試探，一步步行進。
They could see where the path emerged again,
遠處路面浮出湖水，
climbing from the water onto the island and turning into a short flight of stone steps that led to the holdfast door.
攀至島上，變成一段短短的石頭階梯，通向塔門。
Path, steps, and door were in a straight line, which made you think the causeway ran straight, but that wasn’t so.
過道、階梯和塔門同一直線，讓人以為堤道是筆直的，事實并非如此。
Under the lake it zigged and zagged, going a third of a way around the island before jagging back.
湖面之下，它彎來折去，呈之字形，往一個方向延伸島的三分之一寬，然后再折回來。
The turns were treacherous, and the long path meant that anyone approaching would be exposed to arrow fire from the tower for a long time.
拐彎處危險難料，而長長的道路意昧著任何企圖靠近的人都將暴露在塔樓的弓箭之下。
The hidden stones were slimy and slippery too;
水下的巖石又粘又滑，
twice Hodor almost lost his footing and shouted “HODOR!” in alarm before regaining his balance.
阿多兩次差點失足，急得驚恐地大喊“阿多！”，最后才重新找回平衡。
The second time scared Bran badly.
第二次嚇得布蘭夠嗆。
If Hodor fell into the lake with him in his basket, he could well drown,
假如阿多和籃子里的他一起掉入湖中，他很可能被淹死，
especially if the huge stableboy panicked and forgot that Bran was there, the way he did sometimes.
尤其是大個子馬童往往一受驚嚇就忘了布蘭的存在。
Maybe we should have stayed at the inn, under the apple tree, he thought, but by then it was too late.
也許我們該留在客棧的蘋果樹下，他心想，但現在已經遲了。
Thankfully there was no third time, and the water never got up past Hodor’s waist, though the Reeds were in it up to their chests.
謝天謝地，沒有第三次受驚。水從未超過阿多的腰，卻已沒到黎德姐弟的胸口，
And before long they were on the island, climbing the steps to the holdfast.
這時，他們來到島上，沿著階梯向塔樓攀登。
The door was still stout, though its heavy oak planks had warped over the years and it could no longer be closed completely.
門依然堅固，但歷經年月，沉重的橡木板業已彎曲，再也無法完全闔上。
Meera shoved it open all the way, the rusted iron hinges screaming.
梅拉使勁將它頂開，生銹的鐵絞鏈吱吱作響。
The lintel was low.
門梁很矮。
“Duck down, Hodor,”
“彎腰，阿多，”
Bran said, and he did, but not enough to keep Bran from hitting his head.
布蘭說，阿多遵令而行，但彎得不夠低，布蘭撞到了頭。
“That hurt,” he complained.
“好疼。”他抱怨。
“Hodor,” said Hodor, straightening.
“阿多。”阿多邊說，邊直起身子。
They found themselves in a gloomy strongroom, barely large enough to hold the four of them.
他們發現自己位于一間陰暗封閉、剛夠容納四人的房間里。
Steps built into the inner wall of the tower curved away upward to their left, downward to their right, behind iron grates.
構筑于墻壁內側的樓梯左邊盤旋向上，右邊則是向下，皆被鐵柵欄隔開。
Bran looked up and saw another grate just above his head.
頭頂也有鐵柵欄。
A murder hole.
殺人洞。
He was glad there was no one up there now to pour boiling oil down on them.
他很高興沒人從上面倒滾油。
The grates were locked, but the iron bars were red with rust.
柵欄都上了鎖，欄桿全是紅色鐵銹。
Hodor grabbed hold of the lefthand door and gave it a pull, grunting with effort.
阿多緊緊抓住左邊的門，悶哼一聲，使勁拉去，
Nothing happened.
卻什么也沒發生。
He tried pushing with no more success.
他試圖往里推，同樣毫無建樹。
He shook the bars, kicked, shoved against them and rattled them and punched the hinges with a huge hand until the air was filled with flakes of rust,
接著他搖、踢、撞，把它們弄得嗒嗒直響，又用巨掌砸絞鏈，直到空中充滿鐵銹碎屑，
but the iron door would not budge.
但門依舊毫無反應。
The one down to the undervault was no more accommodating.
向下的門也一樣難以撼動。
“No way in,” said Meera, shrugging.
“沒法進去。”梅拉聳聳肩。
The murder hole was just above Bran’s head, as he sat in his basket on Hodor’s back.
布蘭坐在阿多背上的籃子里，殺人洞就在頭頂上方。
He reached up and grabbed the bars to give them a try.
他伸手去抓那欄桿，試著拉了拉，
When he pulled down the grating came out of the ceiling in a cascade of rust and crumbling stone.
不料剛一拽，柵欄門便從天花板上掉落下來，帶著陣陣鐵銹與碎石。
