本文摘选自《Warhammer Quest - Blackstone Fortress》，该译文作为练习仅为个人与交流使用，不用作商业用途。

探索者·EXPLORERS

进入黑石要塞就意味着要与不光彩的恐怖结局相邀为伴，没人会轻易担上这种风险。有些人在寻找可以售出天价的远古科技，另外一些是为了搜寻本族于数千年前遗失的圣物，而其他的仍在为释放黑石要塞本身的灾难性力量而孜孜不懈。然而，无论动机为何，如果想活着回到绝壁星的话，那么他们就得通力合作。

To enter the Blackstone Fortressis to invite an inglorious and horrific end, and none who undertake such risks do solightly. Some seek valuable archeotech that they can sell for an unimaginable fortune, others search for powerful relics lost to their race millennia ago, while others still strive to unlock the cataclysmic power of the Blackstone Fortress itself. But regardless of motive, all must work together if they hope to return to Precipice alive.

贾努斯·德莱克 JANUS DRAIK

德莱克为人英勇，而且胆大心雄，为了寻找可以卖给人类统治精英的稀有商品，他走南闯北，四海为家。作为一名行商浪人，他的行商许可令赋予他探索帝国未知宙域，以及与异形种族缔结协议的权力。他是一名娴熟的决斗者，在旅途中，他杀死过各种各样的生物。通过找到黑石要塞并加以探索，德莱克希望能够揭开空间站的恐怖力量，并将其归于人类的名下。同时，他找到的任何远古科技，不管是拿去售卖还是能够用于日后的消遣，都会令他的座舰增光添彩。

Intrepid and audacious, Janus Draik has travelled far andwide in search of rare commodities to sell to Humanity's ruling elite. As a Rogue Trader, his Warrant of Trade grants him the authority to explore beyond the charted regions of Imperial space and to negotiate agreements with xenos races, so long as such activities serve to streng then the Imperium. He is a deft duellist, and has slain all manner of creatures over the course of his travels. By locating and exploring the Blackstone Fortress, Draik hopes to unlock the terrifying power of the space station and claim it for Mankind. At the same time, any archeotech he finds that could be sold or used in future pursuits makes a welcome addition to his ship's holds.

埃斯彭·洛迦诺 ESPERN LOCARNO

埃斯彭·洛迦诺是一名膺受获准的帝国变种人，他是洛迦诺家族的代理，该家族是最大的导航者家族之一。就像他所有的同类一样，埃斯彭拥有第三只眼睛，它既可以洞察非物质位面，也可以向那些被它凝视的人释放毁灭性的亚空间能量。当黑石要塞的消息传到洛迦诺家族时，埃斯彭被派去进行调查，因为家族的沉思者认为，在被要塞纳入的残骸中，可能有数千年前的货物，而那些货物的合同依然为导航者家族所有。此外，埃斯彭希望得到黑石要塞自身所有的时空扭曲技术，巡游星海的导航者们对此趋之若鹜。

An agent of House Locarno - one of the great Navigator Houses - Espern Locarno is a sanctioned Imperial mutant. Like all of his kind, Espern has a third eye capable of both seeing into the immaterium and of unleashing devastating warp energy at those upon whom its gaze is cast. When news of the Blackstone Fortress reached House Locarno, Espern was sent to investigate, for it was believed by the House's logistors that, amongst the wreckage subsumed by the fortress, there could be cargoes from millennia past for which the Navigator House still held contracts. Furthermore, Espern hopes to obtain the time- and space-bending technologies of the Blackstone Fortress itself, which are greatly desired by the star-faring Navigators.

净化者塔迪乌斯 TADDEUS THE PURIFIER

作为一名国教牧师，塔迪乌斯已经将对皇帝神性的信仰散播至群星之间。无论是在拥挤的巢都世界中和肮脏的贱民为伍，还是与星界军的重重兵列并肩奋战，他的话语都会将帝国人的灵魂引向正义所在，而他的动力槌则会用狂野的挥击予以背书。被塔迪乌斯贬落尘埃的行星总督何止一人，他用披沙拣金一般的目光看穿了对方的华饰，让深藏其中的腐化或灵能变异大白于天下。实际上，为那些高高在上的家伙奉上忠信者的裁决是一种让塔迪乌斯痴迷不已的真正乐趣，因为他能在被告者的火刑之焰里看到图样，他自以为那是来自神皇的讯息。他看到了这么一幅图像，当时他正在烧死一名不肯悔改的海军水手，此人曾散布过黑石要塞的谣言。这幅幻景向塔迪乌斯表明，他必须前往西部湾区，并将皇帝的光芒带到黑暗之中。目前他已经抵达了绝壁星，净化者认为，他（还）有许多尚待完成的正义事业要做，无论是在黑石要塞中清理异端住民，还是定居点内巩固帝国的教义。

As an Adeptus Ministorum Priest, Taddeus the Purifier has spread faith in the Emperor's godhood across the stars. Whether amongst the unwashed rabble of a teeming hive world or fighting alongside the heaving ranks of Astra Militarum soldiery, his words steer Imperial souls towards righteousness, and are backed up by brutal swings of his power maul. More than one planetary governor has been brought low by Taddeus, his winnowing gaze seeing through their finery to detect deep-seated corruption or psychic mutation. In truth, bringing the justice of the faithful to those loftiest of individuals is the one true joy in which Taddeus indulges, for in the pyre-flames of the accused he sees images that he believes to be messages from the God-Emperor. He saw one such image whilst immolating an impenitent Navyman who had spread rumours about the Blackstone Fortress. This vision showed Taddeus that he must travel to the Western Reaches and carry the Emperor's light into the darkness. Now that he has arrived at Precipice, the Purifier sees that there is much righteous work for him to undertake, both in cleansing the heretical inhabitants of the Blackstone Fortress and in cementing the Imperial Creed within the settlement itself.

皮乌斯·沃恩 PIOUS VORNE

沃恩是一名为净化者塔迪乌斯服务的传教士，她在只有十几岁的时候就被对方收为了门下。她生长在客西马尼（1）巢都世界的精炼氏族之中，当净化者前来清除据传在工人间散播异端邪说的混沌教派时，沃恩怀着公开的仰慕之情注视着牧师的所作所为。她的七个族人被认定为潜在的异端，并被绑到火刑架上予以净化，然而当他们被浇上圣油之后，有一个人挣脱束缚逃走了。逃犯从咆哮的塔迪乌斯身边跑了开去，他冲进了围观的人群，直奔沃恩而去，她把那个浑身是油的家伙推进了一盏位于微尘烟囱旁边的露天指示灯里。那个男人燃烧得如此炽烈，以至于沃恩嘴唇和手上的皮肤都被烫没了，然而她依旧热切地注视着，直到那尖叫的异教徒化成了灰烬。塔迪乌斯在沃恩的身上看到了自己（的影子），于是便把一具火焰喷射器连同皮乌斯（2）之名一并赋给了她，她可以以此继续行使皇帝的职责。现在，当她进入黑石要塞时，虔诚者沃恩试图为那些看不到帝国之光的家伙带去正义的火焰。

Vorne is a missionary in the service of Taddeus the Purifier, having been taken under his wing when she was little more than a teenager. She grew up amongst the refinery clans on the hive world of Gethsemane, and when the Purifier arrived to weed out the rumoured Chaos cults that were fomenting heresy amongst the workers, Vorne watched the priest's actions with open admiration. Seven of her clans people were identified as potential heretics, and were lashed to a pyre-stake for purification, but after they had been doused in sacred oils, one slipped his bonds and fled. The fugitive raced into the crowd of onlookers, away from the bellowing Taddeus and straight into Vorne, who pushed the oil-drenched man into an exposed pilot light on the side of an alchomite stack. So intense was the heat of the man's combustion that the skin on Vorne's lips and hands was burnt away, yet still she watched eagerly until the screaming heretic had been reduced to ash. Taddeus saw one like himself in Vorne, and gave her the name Pious, as well as a flamer with which she could continue the Emperor's work. Now, as she heads into the Blackstone Fortress, Pious Vorne seeks to bring righteous fire to those who have not seen the light of the Imperium.

（1）客西马尼/Gethsemane，又称蒙难地，是圣经中耶稣基督经常祷告与默想之处，他就是在这里被犹大出卖逮捕的。

（2）皮乌斯/Pious，即 “虔诚者” 之意。

阿玛琳· 循影 AMALLYN SHADOWGUIDE

作为一名游侠，阿玛琳· 循影习惯于在远离自己故乡方舟世界比耶-坦的地方行动。她已经在网道里旅行了好几个世纪，这个点阵状的亚维度能够连接遥远的群星，她一边追捕自己族人的仇敌，一边寻找能够让艾达灵族重返昔日荣光的良方。一场大战令她的方舟世界分崩离析——饥肠辘辘的恶魔与刚刚成形的灵族神祗化身伊尼耶德大打出手，这场冲突是如此惨烈，以至于它为大裂隙的撕裂出了一臂之力。虽然恶魔大军被击退了，但巨大的宇宙飞船受到了无法修复的损害，其无限回路中贮存的诸多阿苏耶尼之魂永远地消失了。在收到比耶-坦先知的传信之后，阿玛琳开始动身寻找黑石要塞，因为他们已经预见到，那迷宫一般的行廊深处藏有数千年前的艾达灵族科技残骸，那些东西也许可以用来修复他们的方舟世界。在阿苏耶尼之中，能少能有比阿玛琳· 循影更适合这项任务的。她的名字来源于艾达灵族的单词奥特梅纱，它的意思是“穿越阴影的寻觅者”，这个名字会由那些致力于掌握身心内外之黯的灵族接下。

As a Ranger, Amallyn Shadowguide is used to operating far from her craftworld home of Biel-Tan. For long centuries she has travelled the webway, the lattice-like sub-dimension that connects distant stars, hunting down the enemies of her people and seeking ways to return the Aeldari race to its former glory. Her craftworld was fractured during a massive battle - ravenous Daemons fought the Avatar of the newly formed Aeldari god Ynnead in a conflict so cataclysmic that it helped tear open the Great Rift. The Daemon hordes were driven back, the enormous spacecraft was damaged beyond repair, and many of the Asuryani souls stored within its Infinity Circuit were lost forever. After receiving word from Biel-Tan's Farseers, Amallyn set out to find the Blackstone Fortress, for they had foreseen that deep within its labyrinthine corridors were millennia-old remnants of Aeldari technology that might be used to restore their craftworld. There are few amongst the Asuryani better suited to this task than Amallyn Shadowguide. Her very name is derived from the Aeldari word otMensha, which means' seeker through shadows', and is borne by those who strive to master the darkness that surrounds them, as well as the darkness within themselves.

达雅克· 格雷克 DAHYAK GREKH

达雅克· 格雷克是佣兵种族克鲁特的一员，待价而沽的他是一位经验丰富的寻迹者。通常所遇到的克鲁特人一般都是钛帝国的部署的辅助军，这些战士以凶残暴戾、形如野兽而闻名，那些在战斗中命丧其手的家伙会被他们会吃掉血肉。绝壁星上的许多冒险者都认为相信这种野兽一般的生物无异于割喉自杀，但他们并不知道佣兵文化对于克鲁特人有多么的重要，也不晓得他们对自己从事的暴力职业有多么的认真。每一份得到履约的新合同都会为他们赢得进一步穿越群星的良机，通过这种方式，他们可以从被其所噬之敌的身上汲取各种遗传特质。背叛客户可能会让这种生活方式受到危害，而让他们整个种族得以进化的可食血肉也会就此断流。格雷克已经在多个战区中磨练了自己的追踪和戮敌技巧，并为各种各样的异形种族提供了服务。他不在乎自己的雇主是谁，只要对方能支付报酬就行。然而在他吞噬黑石要塞的住民的时候，德雷克学到了许多与黑暗迷宫有关的知识。他没有告诉别人自己用这种方式发现了什么，不过，格雷克如今在孜孜不倦地寻找神圣的克鲁特文物，而它们就隐藏在不断移动大厅里。

A member of the mercenary species known as the Kroot, Dahyak Grekh is an experienced tracker for hire. Kroot are commonly encountered as auxiliaries deployed by the Tau Empire, and are known as savage, animalistic warriors who devour the flesh of those they kill in battle. Many adventurers on Precipice think that trusting such a bestial creature is tantamount to ripping out one's own throat, but little do they know how crucial the mercenary cultureis to the Kroot, and how seriously they take their violent profession. Each new contract fulfilled wins them the means to travel further across the stars, and in this way they are able to absorb the varied genetic traits of those foes they devour. To betray a client would be to jeopardise this way of life, and to stem the flow of consumed flesh that allows their entire species to evolve. Dahyak himself has honed his craft of tracking and slaughtering enemies in multiple war zones, and in service to various client races. He cares not whom he serves, so long as they pay. But in devouring the denizens of the Blackstone Fortress, Dahyak has learnt much of the darkened maze. He has told no one what he has discovered in this way, but now tirelessly searches for sacred Kroot artefacts hidden within the shifting halls.

UR-025

帝国机兵UR-025是一个古怪的家伙，即使以绝壁星的标准也是如此。这台战斗机器披着一身厚重的金属护层，而且装备有毁灭性的武器，对于那些想要冒险进入黑石要塞的人来说，它是一位颇受欢迎的盟友。在乘着那艘破旧的垃圾运输船抵达绝壁星之后，它发布了一则自动声明，称自己是以太贤者南科图斯三世派来的自动数据收集单元，并且还得到了授权指令，那些对欧姆尼西亚所托之职造成阻碍的存在都会被消灭掉。实际上，这台机器人的古老程度远远超过了任何人的想象。它的起源可以追溯到黑暗科技时代，人类在那个时期造出了具有思考能力的机器，它们最终和自己的主人挥刀相向。这些具有知性的机器人被称为小罗伯特·唐尼铁人，它们几乎被斩尽杀绝。然而UR-025存在了数千年之久，它躲藏在银河的边陲之境，并让其他人相信自己是帝国的自动工具。和绝壁星上的其他住民不同，它对黑石要塞里的异形小零碎没有半点兴趣。相反，它试图获取黑石要塞本身的科技，因为UR-025在这座巨大的空间站里见到了一个同类。

The Imperial Robot UR-025 is an oddity, even by the standards of Precipice. Clad in thick metallic plating and bearing devastating weaponry, this battle-machine is a highly sought-after ally for those looking to venture into the Blackstone Fortress. Having arrived at Precipice on a dilapidated Imperial junk hauler, it emitted an auto- proclamation claiming it had been sent by Magos-Ethericus Nanctos III as an autonomous data-collection unit, and that it had directives for sanctioned eradication of those who impeded its Omnissiah-given duty. But in truth, the robot is far more ancient than anyone realises. Its origins date back to the Dark Age of Technology, when Mankind built thinking machines that eventually turned violently upon their masters. Known as the Men of Iron, these sentient robots were all but wiped out. Yet UR-025 has persisted over the long millennia, hiding on the fringes of the galaxy and allowing others to believe it is an automatous tool of the Imperium. Unlike the other inhabitants of Precipice, it cares little for the trinkets of xenos races that have been subsumed by the Blackstone Fortress. Instead, it seeks to obtain the technologies of the fortress itself, for in the colossal space station UR-025 sees a kindred being.

雷恩和劳斯 REIN & RAUS

狡猾、奸诈，公然行窃，雷恩和劳斯·加法尔这对双胞胎在绝壁星上受到的钦佩和怀疑可以说是难分轩轾。作为亚人类物种成员，被称为莱特林人的他们在社会的边缘地带惬意地生活着，并且很快就证明了其矮小的体型不太容易成为暴力的目标。就像众所周知的那样，雷恩和劳斯偷偷地搭上了一艘舰艇，而那艘舰艇正在追踪黑石要塞发出的信号，在抵达残骸星云之后，他们 “借” 了一条小船，然后用它穿过了残骸。没人知道这对双胞胎究竟是预先就计划好了这段旅程，还是每一步都仅仅只是即兴之作。无论如何，自从来到这里后，他们已经证明了自己是当之无愧的战士和探险家，雷恩是一名出色的狙击手，而劳斯则是一个灵活的杂技演员。他们身上的装备表明这两人曾经是星界军辅助团的一份子，然而并没有任何迹象显示他们的所作所为是授权任务的一部分。凭借空空妙手，他们很快就把远古科技从黑石要塞里扒了出来，（那些）最好的会被留为己用，而其它的则会被卖掉，以此换取丰厚的利润。

Wily, cunning and unabashedly larcenous, the twins Rein and Raus Gaffar are admired and distrusted in equal measure on Precipice. As members of the abhuman species known as Ratlings, they are comfortable operating on the fringes of society, and are quick to demonstrate that their small statures do not make them easy targets for violence. As far as anyone has been able to tell, Rein and Raus were stowaways aboard a ship that was following the signals emitted by the fortress, and upon reaching the wreckage nebula they 'borrowed'a smaller vessel with which to travel through the debris. No one has been able to figure out if the pair had planned this journey ahead of time or if eachleg was simply an improvisation. Regardless, they have proven themselves worthy combatants and explorers since their arrival, with Rein being a crackshot sniper and Raus a nimble acrobat. The gear they bear suggests that they were once part of an Astra Militarum Auxilla regiment, but they have shown no signs that they are operating as part of a sanctioned mission. With light fingers they riffle through the archeotech pulled from the Blackstone Fortress, keeping the best for themselves and selling the rest for a healthy profit. 

绝壁之舟·VESSELS OF PRECIPICE

只有那些小到足以穿越残骸星云的飞船才能抵达绝壁星。因此，绝壁星的冒险者们必须要利用他们所能携带的有限资源，为了活下去，他们要互通有无，并将各种飞船的能力发挥到最大限度。

Only those craft small enough to pass through the wreckage nebula ever make it to Precipice. As such, the explorers of the Blackstone Fortress must draw upon what limited resources they are able to bring with them in order to survive, trading amongst each other and leveraging the capabilities of their various vessels to the fullest extent.

长途曳轮伽马-3-贝塔 LONG HAULER GAMMA-3-B

作为一艘废品运输船，由机械神教建造的长途曳轮伽马-3-贝塔已经服役了超过一万年。它被雷恩和鲁斯开到了绝壁星——尽管尚不清楚他们是怎么得到它的——而且一抵达空间站，帝国机器人Robot UR-025便从杂乱的登船平台里钻了出来。

Constructed by the Mechanicum, Long Hauler Gamma-3-Beta has served as a junk freighter for over ten millennia. It was piloted to Precipice by Rein and Raus - though how it came into their possession is not clear - and upon arrival at the space station, the Imperial Robot UR-025 emerged from the vessel's cluttered hanger.

号角号 CLARION

作为帝国国教的传教舟，号角号被当成了一座机动大教堂，它配有染色的钢化玻璃和红外线圣歌播放器。其神圣的甲板上载着各种各样的器具，净化者塔迪乌斯和皮乌斯·沃恩会利用这些器具来展示自己的技艺，通过恐惧和酷刑，他们会让国教的信仰广传天下。

As a missionary vessel of the Adeptus Ministorum, Clarion serves as a mobile cathedrum, complete with stained armaglass windows and infra-wave laud hailers. Its hallowed decks contain all manner of implements that Taddeus the Purifier and hisdisciple, Pious Vorne, use to ply their craft, allowing them to spread faith in the Imperial cult through fear and excruciation.

卡瓦'查'托 KRAAV'CHA'TO

这艘灵活的克鲁特船属于佣兵寻迹者达雅克· 格雷克，它被设计用来在低压环境和气态巨行星的大气上层狩猎。卡瓦'查'托的甲板上到处都是恐怖的战利品，还有那数据库，里面装着无数正在进行中的合同。

Belonging to the mercenary tracker Dahyak Grekh, this nimble Kroot vessel was designed for hunting inlow-pressure environs and in the upper atmospheres of gas giants. The Kraavcha'to's decks are littered with grisly trophies, as well as databanks containing details of myriad ongoing contracts.

旅行者号 TRAVELLER

作为战术行动艇，旅行者号已经为洛迦诺家族服务了数千年之久，尽管其尺寸不大，但它包含了一系列令人印象深刻的通信和亚空间操纵设备。它的控制权与其现任船长——埃斯彭·洛迦诺——的灵能信号同调一致，这使得导航者的代理人可以对船进行遥控驾驶。

The tactical operations vessel Traveller has served House Locarno for many thousands of years, and despite its small size contains an impressive array of communications and warp-manipulation technologies. Its controls are attuned to the psychic signal of its current captain - Espern Locarno -allowing the Navigator agent to pilot the vessel remotely.

先锋号 VANGUARD

自从贾努斯·德莱克首次继承了他的行商许可令后，这艘造型优美、机动灵活的穿梭艇就一直归他所有了。一小批最受德莱克信任的助手陪他一同登上了先锋号，在那里，他们会对行商浪人的无畏之举进行援助，并保护由他收集起来的大量异形科技造物。 

This sleek and manoeuvrable shuttle has been in Janus Draik's possession since he first inherited his Warrant of Trade. A handful of Draik's most trusted attachés have accompanied him aboard Vanguard, where they aide him in his exploits and guard his considerable collection of xeno-tech artefacts.

玛图里尔的骏马 STEED OF MATHURIR

玛图里尔的骏马是一条无以伦比的探险船，虽然只有最小的网道桅门才能将它阻之于外，然而在攀越失落已久的处女世界时却能忍苦耐劳。它的宏观和微观导航设备能够让阿玛琳· 循影在追寻古代灵族文物的过程中引身远行。

Small enough to traverse all but the narrowest webway spars, yet capable of enduring the difficult climbs of long-lost maiden worlds, the Steed of Mathurir is a peerless exploration vessel. Its suite of macro- and micro-navigation equipment has allowed Amallyn Shadowguide to travel far and wide in her search for ancient Aeldari artefacts.