Still no luck finding Bardin’s daughter, sad to say. It’s depressing, really. Time was, a goblin couldn’t sneeze within the bounds of the Old World without me hearing about it – if I were interested in greenskin nasal discharges, leastways – but nowadays it’s getting harder and harder to lay my hands on solid information. Getting old, that’s the problem. Spying’s a young man’s game.
唉，巴丁的女儿还是没找着。真的，挺打击人的。
想当年啊，整个旧世界里但凡有只哥布林打个喷嚏，都逃不过我的耳朵——前提得是我对这些绿皮崽子的鼻涕感兴趣；
叹如今呐，想弄点实打实的消息是越来越难。说到底就是老了，干情报这行也是吃的青春饭啊。
Recent events don’t exactly help. World’s gone mad, and that’s trouble for those of us who pride ourselves on having a bit of sanity left.
现在这大环境本来就不好。世道一疯，麻烦全落在我们这种还自诩留着几分理智的人头上。
So what do I actually know? Well, I’ve had word from Barak Varr that a Hedda Bardinsdottir took ship – as captain, no less – on the nautilus Grungni’s Whisper about a year back. Nothing since, not about the Whisper, nor anyone aboard. Mind you, that’s about standard for a nautilus. Sneaky little submersibles. I like ‘em. I tell you, if we had even one patrolling the waters of the Reik, this Rotblood bother of ours would be much less of a bother. Nothing says ‘get off my land’ better than a torpedo right in the supply barge.
那我手上到底有多少料？
这么说吧，海门关那边来了信儿：大约一年前，有个叫赫达·巴丁斯多蒂尔的人上了一艘鹦鹉螺级的船，还当上了船长，船名是“格朗尼的低语”①。
然后就没有然后了——低语号的下落，无；船员的下落，无。
也合理，因为鹦鹉螺级偏偏就是一艘鬼鬼祟祟的小潜艇。
潜艇好啊，我喜欢！我跟你讲，咱们瑞克河上要是能有这么一艘潜艇巡逻，腐血这摊子麻烦也就没这么麻烦了。毕竟比起对腐血杂碎喊“滚出老子的地盘”，显然一发正中补给船的鱼雷更管用。
But I digress. Might be that this disappearance is where the tale ends, but my twitching nose says otherwise. This don’t feel like an accidental disappearance, but something deliberate. The Whisper doesn’t want to be found, and likely neither does young Hedda.
扯远了。不过，这次失踪，就是故事的结局了……吗？
可我这鼻子一个劲儿地抽抽，它不这么想。这事儿不像是意外，倒像是存心的：低语号不想被找到，赫达那丫头多半也不想。
I suppose I’m left with no other choice but to see if her mother has any ideas. Not something I do lightly. ‘Overprotective’ doesn’t begin to do dwarf lasses justice. You know how you never see their womenfolk in the battle line? That ain’t because they can’t fight. It’s because every dwarf knows that when you march to war, you leave your sharpest axes behind to defend your home, like Valaya tells you. If you’ve not heard that before, happen you’ll want to think on why that might be.
没别的招了，看来我只能去问问她妈有没有主意。这活儿不好干啊，矮人家的女人可不是“护犊子”这么简单。
你知道为什么矮人的女眷从来不上阵吗？
那可不是因为她们不能打。是因为每个矮人都明白，出征的时候，最锋利的斧子得留在家里守家——瓦拉雅②就是这么教的。你要是头一回听这话，那自个儿琢磨琢磨背后的道理。
If the thought of charging a dwarf shield wall chills the blood, spare a thought for those who sneak into what they think is an abandoned hold when the menfolk are away. I’d sooner corner a dragon in its lair than chance the fury of a dwarf maid defending her clan’s beardlings and her ancestor’s tombs, so you can see why I’m wary of troubling Grelda Thrangsdottir about private family matters.
要是光想想正面冲矮人的盾墙就够你血凉半截，那再替那些人想想，趁矮子们出征摸进一座他们以为废弃的矿堡会是什么下场？
这么说吧，我宁愿把一条龙堵在窝里，也不愿意去硬刚一位守护着族里的雏须③和祖先坟墓的女矮人。
现在你知道为什么我说拿这种家事去找格蕾尔达·特朗斯多蒂尔的活儿不好干了吧？
