You know … I’m old enough to remember when traditional Imperial holidays were good enough for everyone, but no more, apparently.
你得知道，活到我这把年纪才会懂得传统帝国假期就挺好，根本没必要搞那些花里胡哨的东西。
Used to be at this time of year, young swains were busy twisting bowers from the last leafless winter branches, a-wooing their intended with displays of craftsmanship as bountiful Rhya intended. But not now, no. Nowadays that Estalian “Night of Masks” is in fashion with the youngsters of the local village, and come Festag we’ll be neck-deep in love-lorn couples dancing about the fires and pretending to be something they’re not. Devalues the whole practice and purpose of wearing a mask, if you ask me, but what do I know?
想当年啊，每到这个节日，年轻的小伙子们总会用冬日的枯枝搭起棚子，以丰饶女神芮亚的名义向心仪的女孩展示他们的手艺。
叹如今呐，这些本地的年轻人中流行起一种来自埃斯塔利亚的习俗，叫什么”假面之夜”，到了假日那天，思春的小年轻们戴着面具扮演成别的人，出双入对地围着篝火跳着舞。
依我看啊，这就是贬低了戴面具的意义和目的！算了，我懂个屁。
And it’s not as if it’s even the right point in the calendar to be celebrating the Night of Masks. But that’s the trouble with the Empire. We do like borrowing things from other realms and making them our own … but we’re not so clever with the details.
再说了，他们连假面之夜的正确日子都搞错了。帝国的老毛病了——我们喜欢把别人的东西拿过来，改造成自己的，但常常搞成东施效颦。
Bah. I should let the youngsters have their fun while they can. I’m just on edge, is all. Had a whopper of a nightmare, concerning a plague of blood-red snakes eating everything in sight. Never should have taken Bardin up on that offer of cheese.
嗐，是该纵容这帮小年轻及时行乐，是我自己太焦虑了，嗯，就是这样。因为我做了一个离谱的噩梦：铺天盖地血红蛇群吞噬着周围的一切。怕不是因为吃了巴丁给我的那些奶酪？
Most everyone else is looking forward to the festivities. Sienna’s been collecting Tilean masks for the better part of a year, although she keeps them well out of sight in case some of the lads want the feathers for their fletching. Kruber’s been working on a homemade effort for days, though unless he shaves that moustache – and has a bath – it’s all going to be for naught. I even caught a glimpse of a mask in Kerillian’s quarters. Faceless, it was, and polished to a mirror-sheen. Gave me a bit of a shiver, but that’s probably the effect she was going for. I can just see her now, treading the Festag fires and making mischief. “Cast eyes upon me, lumberfoot and gaze upon yuir one true desire … yuir ane self!”
Too much of a one, actually, given how she’s been creeping about the place, hanging those charms where she thinks I can’t see them. I mean, it’s not the first time she’s pulled this kind of nonsense. Seems every month there’s a different sprig of herbs and dried branches nailed to the gatepost. But that’s the thing. When it’s on the gatepost you can see it plain and dispose of it quietly. No muss. No fuss.
不，是朵大奇葩！一天到晚鬼鬼祟祟的四处晃悠，把那些护身符还是啥的挂在她以为我看不见的地方。没错，一！天！到！晚！每个月我几乎都会在门柱上发现钉着的草药和干燥的枝条。如果仅此而已就好了，至少在门柱上你还能看见，清理起来也是顺手的事儿。
Recently, she’s gotten sneaky, and a sneaky elf’s not something you let pass without question. I’ve found the wretched things behind bookshelves, in the rafters and hidden among Rosalinde’s building stockpiles. Kerillian doesn’t want these to be found. Either that, or she’s watching me run around the keep tracking them down, and laughing her skinny posterior off for putting me to the trouble. As to what’s in these charms of hers, I can’t be sure, but I know the whiff of magic when it hits my nasal passages. It’s heady stuff. Fair makes your wits float on the clouds, and I don’t need that at my time of life, thank you.
这段日子她是越来越狡猾了，而一个狡猾的精灵是不容忽视的。我在书架后面、梁上和罗莎琳德③的建筑储藏室里发现了这些可恶的东西。要么凯瑞莲并不希望她的把戏被发现；要么，她就乐意看着我这把老骨头追着她屁股后面收拾这些鬼东西，然后她还笑得像根发抖的树枝！她的那些护身物里面到底有什么我不确定，但是那股魔法的气息顺着我鼻子直冲天灵盖！闻到那味道感觉整个人都飘起来了，我这把老骨头不需要这种体验了，我他妈谢谢你！
Olesya’s no help. Just shrugged and told me not to bother my grey head about it. Sienna wasn’t much better, just an airy comment about how “Indulge her, Franz darling. We could use a little more indulgence around here” and then wandered off, as if that were the end of the matter. Not exactly words to put me at ease, if I’m honest. Sienna has plenty of vices, but temptation ranks highest of all. Could be she’s curious to see what happens next. *If *anything happens next.
奥蕾丝雅根本不管，她听完只是耸了耸肩，说你都一把年纪了没必要还为这种事操心。西耶娜也好不到哪儿去，她漫不经心地撂下一句：”你就惯着她点嘛，亲爱的弗兰兹，咱们这儿多那么一点纵容就好了。”说完就扬长而去。就这？老实说，我更担心了。西耶娜有很多恶癖，其中魔法的诱惑力对她是最大的。我寻思要是真发生点什么，她指不定就是那个最想看的。
And Saltzpyre? If I go all hot and heavy to him with tales that Kerillian’s up to something magical, it’s bound to end with one of them bloody, and that’s a load of fuss I can’t bring myself to deal with right now. Or maybe it won’t. Our Witch Hunter’s been a bit distracted of late, poring over those scrolls I … acquired … from the Imperial Vaults.
至于萨尔茨皮雷，你信不信我只要添油加醋地把凯瑞莲的魔法把戏跟他一说，这俩指定会抄家伙干起来，不见血不收场。最后不还得我来收拾烂摊子？唔，应该不至于。咱们的猎巫人最近心思全放在那堆我从帝国宝库偷……嗯，带回来的卷轴上了。
Now I think about it, Saltzpyre’s got an odd look about him, too. Like a man working his way up to admitting a decision he’s already made. More mysteries for yours truly to solve.
等会儿，萨尔茨皮雷最近也不对劲，总感觉他在憋一波大的，有几次话到嘴边他都憋回去了。看起来有更多的秘密待老夫来破解。
Funny thing is, I’ve got the notion that whatever Kerillian’s up to, it’s not about us. It feels like she’s trying to attract the attention of something else. One of her gods, maybe? And if that’s not a mixed bag of blessings and bad news, I don’t know what is. Those elven deities skitter back and forth over the line between ‘beneficent’ and ‘bloodletting’ in ways it’s best not to linger on.
另外我还有种感觉，就是凯瑞莲搞的这一切其实跟我们根本没有关系。感觉她是想引起其他东西的注意，搞不好是她信仰的某个神？那完了，如果这都不算凶吉难测，我不知道什么才是。毕竟精灵的那些神总是在”恩泽”和”血祭”的边缘疯狂横跳，还是少惹为妙。
Maybe I should just confront Kerillian about it direct? You know, head-to-head and man to … duplicitous pointy-eared mistress of evasion. Yeah. That’ll work.
要不，我直接找凯瑞莲问个明白？你懂的，就那种面对面地，男人和男……艾索洛伦的诡辩者。好吧，我就多余想这一出。
Maybe I’ll leave it a couple of days, until the Night of Masks is done and things are otherwise back to normal. It’s not as though she knows it’s me who’s interfering with her handiwork. Overheard a right row between her and Bardin just yesterday, in fact. He denied it, of course, but that dwarf always looks guilty, so I reckon I’ll be in the clear for a bit.
要不还是再等几天，熬到”假面之夜”结束，熬到一切如常。她看起来并不知道其实我”糟蹋”了她的手艺，因为昨天我还听到她跟巴丁吵了一架。巴丁当然说不是他干的，然而矮人那张天生的自责脸帮了我一把，所以这段日子大概我能清净一会儿了。
