多節行者Gnarled Walkers

  As beautiful as a walk through the Tristram wilderness is, with its lush fields and picturesque rivers, the air seems to take on an otherworldly foreboding as one approaches the fishing village of Wortham. My search to catalog the weird, the fabulous, and the all-too-often-dangerous inhabitants of our world had led me there. I hoped to find a guide who could bring me safely into the Festering Wood and back, for I had come to see for myself the strange creatures that are the "gnarled walkers".

     走在美麗的崔斯特瑞姆原野上， 看著周圍鬱鬱蔥蔥的田野和風景如畫的河流，令人的心情也舒暢起來。當我到達一個名為沃瑟姆(Wortham)的小漁村時，空氣中似乎彷彿有著某種超自然的預兆。為了將居住在我們這個世界上的那些怪異和難以置信並且具有攻擊性的居住者編撰下來，我來到了這裡。我希望能有一個嚮導能夠安全的把我帶進潰爛森林(Festering Wood)然後再出來，因為我知道那裡面有一種奇特的生物，多節行者。

     What then, you may ask, is a gnarled walker? Is it simply an ensorcelled walking tree – a wood wraith – or is it something more? Does it truly live? These are the questions I sought to answer as I strode into the village of Wortham that bright day, which had somehow turned dark and dreary while my attention was elsewhere. But the few people I encountered in Wortham were a taciturn lot, unwilling to answer my inquiries.

     那麼，你可能會問，什麼是多節行者？ 是會行走的大樹、是樹木的鬼魂、又或者是其他的什麼東西？它是實實在在的活物嗎？我想尋求這問題的答案，沃瑟姆(Wortham)原本是陽光明媚的日子，當我走到村莊時，不久之後天色逐漸灰暗下來，空氣開始變得沉悶，我向村民詢問關於多節行者的事情。但在村裡碰到有限的幾個人都沉默寡言，不願回答我的問題。

     As I inspected my way around the moribund town, it was impossible to ignore the fact that the bridge I hoped to take to the Festering Wood had been destroyed, burned beyond repair. My questions about this circumstance went unanswered. I likewise found it odd that there seemed to be only elderly people in the village, with the exception of one beautiful young woman whose father was quite insistent I keep my distance from her. Though he was rude on this point, I found him to be a rather sociable sort once convinced I was not interested in his daughter. He introduced himself as Pablo DeSoto, and as luck would have it, he was very knowledgeable about several topics in regards to magic and the object of my search.

     當我繞著這個死氣沉沉的城鎮尋找道路時，我必須面對這個事實，我所希望的通往潰爛森林(Festering Wood)的橋已經毀壞了，燒得一塌糊塗，沒辦法修復。沒有人願意回答我關於這附近環境的問題。另外我發現村裡有位老頭子，他有一位年輕漂亮姑娘，她的父親堅持我與他女兒保持距離，並且會厲聲呵斥，不讓我接近他的女兒。雖然在這個話題上顯得頗為粗魯，在證明我對他女兒沒什麼興趣之後，他變得和藹了很多。他自我介紹叫作巴勃羅德索托(Pablo DeSoto)，幸運的是對於一些魔法的傳言以及我的疑問。他都有著相當的瞭解。

     According to Master DeSoto, the Festering Wood derives its name from the fact that everything in it seethes and roils with evil intent: even the ground itself has been known to rise up and devour a person. When pushed further in regards to the gnarled walkers specifically, he pontificated at length as to their true nature. He maintained they are vile mystical creatures from another realm who can only sustain their existence in our world by sapping life energy from men or animals. These heinous beings have shifted their appearance to that of trees, thereby luring their prey close so as to consume it whole and enrich their reserves of dark power. These beastly things move ponderously, and some are known to exude a foul stench that poisons their victims. Master DeSoto is certain the origin of the walkers, and of the Festering Wood itself, can be traced to the foul doings of necromancers, who he claims are responsible for much of the evil that has befallen our world. He expounded in full to me his theory that the "whole Diablo incident", as he called it, was tied up in their dark arts as well.

     根據德索托(DeSoto)先生的描述，潰爛森林(Festering Wood)中的一切似乎都在湧動著，甚至有時大地也會突然升起。將人吞噬。森林的名字也就是這麼來的。當談論到多節行者的時候，他說明了它們真正面目。他說這些卑劣的神秘生物來自於一個透過吸取人類或者動物能量來維持生命的物種。這些可憎的生物將他們的外表偽裝成樹木的模樣以便誘捕獵物，吸收受害者變成它們黑暗力量的儲備。這些怪物進行緩慢的移動，有些能夠散發出惡臭來毒害它們的獵物。德索托(DeSoto)大師肯定的聲稱多節行者，以及潰爛森林(Festering Wood)本身的形成可以追溯到那些死靈法師使邪惡降臨於這個世界的骯髒行為，而這些死靈法師對此要負上很大的責任。他詳細的和我講述了他稱之為「暗黑破壞神(Diablo)事件」的理論，而這又和那些死靈法師們的黑暗技術相關聯。

     Regardless as to whether that is the truth of the matter or not, I felt fortunate that I was unable to find a guide to bring me into the Festering Wood. Upon hearing of what transpires there, I have decided it is far better suited to the adventuring temperament than my own.

     不論真相是否如他所說一樣，我還是很慶幸沒有找到能帶我進入潰爛森林(Festering Wood)的嚮導。在聽到了關於那裡的傳言之後，我覺得最好還是尋找一個更適合我的探險方式會比我自己胡亂決定要好得多了。

     ABOUT THE AUTHOR

     Abd al-Hazir is a renowned gentleman, historian, and scholar. He has recently taken up the unprecedented task of investigating, researching, and compiling information about the unique locales and denizens of our world.

     作者簡介

     阿卜杜勒‧阿哈茲(Abd al-Hazir)是一個著名的紳士、歷史學家和學者。他對我們世界所有相關的獨特語言環境和居民們採取了前所未有的調查、研究和編制工作。