Way of the Departed 亡者之道 第十章

乐高幻影忍者官方小说

作者: Tommy Andreasen

原文与图片来自ninjago wiki

译者：醉酒异客

若有翻译不准处请在评论区纠正

去市政厅的沿途到处都是正在施工的江户建筑，塔楼上古老的金属纹饰在落日的余晖中闪闪发光，工匠们叮叮当当的敲击声充斥着大街小巷。这声音好像是在钉棺材板一样，让我越来越不舒服。 我走进了市政厅，贾拉汉、塞莉尔和她父亲已经在那里等我了。镇长彬彬有礼地向我问好，并又一次就黑暗机械忍者袭击事件表达了诚挚的谢意，尽管如此，我依然能够感觉到这里的紧张气氛。贾拉汉不安地扭动着身子；塞莉尔板着脸坐在那里；镇长对我的情况显然也有所耳闻，虽然我不知道他们都给他说了多少；我头上伤疤也已经够诡异的了。我已经想好了该给他们说些什么，但我还没想好该怎么解释我是如何知道这些的。我总不能说是一个附在画上的鬼魂告诉我的吧？塞莉尔从来不信任超自然的事物，我可不想让她知道这个城镇上真有个幽灵。我谨慎地张开嘴，开始缓慢地讲述起来。我担心塞莉尔还在指责贾拉汉对她有所隐瞒，便在讲述中尽力为他开脱－－这让贾拉汉看起来自在多了。整个过程中，我一直在留意镇长的神色，因为我不知道到底哪些信息是他了解的，哪些是他不了解的。我尝试向他表明这些江户建筑的可疑性－－毕竟原住户都神秘地失踪了，而镇长他本人似乎没有对这些房子的背景做过系统的调查。我尽量让我的话听起来比较委婉，但他显然认为这是对他的指控，没等我说完他就爆发了。“你什么意思？！我难道是个黑心政客吗？我是这座美丽小镇的镇长！我的责任也很重的！诺姆想要富强全部得靠我！商业委员会一直闹着要搞经济发展，我们光走工业化的路线是不够的！光靠与博格产业合作也不够！我们不能只有个工业形象，我们也需要搞……文化形象，我得打造好诺姆的文化名片！这样才能发展旅游业！”完成了这一番叫嚷之后，他站在一边喘着粗气，慢慢平静了下来。他的神色从愤怒逐渐变成疲惫，好像对刚刚所说的话并不是很自信，诺姆重建的工作似乎也带给他了巨大的压力，塞莉尔和贾拉汉在一旁诧异地望着他。 “那个怪家伙，我当初就不该听他的。我怎么就轻信了他呢！”镇长咕哝道。“他是谁，父亲？”塞莉尔问。 镇长深深地叹了口气。“那家伙五个月前来过这儿，我之前从来没有见过他，后来也没再见过他。他告诉我说，他在南方拥有一块土地，那儿的古村落里，建有很多被遗弃的江户古建筑，都拥有很大的历史意义、文化意义和美学价值。他将土地的所有权转让给了我，又给了我一张地图，希望我能替他保护好这些物质文化遗产，让它们重现昌盛的样貌。他说他要过很久之后才会回来，所以我把修复方案跟他反复核实了好几遍，就怕理解错了他的意思。他看上去倒像是个真诚的老实人，但他的口音听起来怪怪的，很蹩脚。临走前，他说他来自曼托尼亚。” 我感觉我好像又当头挨了一棒！“他长什么样？”我问，但我已经能猜出来了。 “一个大块头，相貌很古怪，脸上胡子拉碴的，带着个沉乎乎的金属头盔，还有一副笨重的金属手套。”我颤抖了起来，塞莉尔问我怎么了。我本以为这些都是克劳斯耍的花招，可现在看来……卡洛夫？！他是我们的朋友啊！我们最后一次见他是在时空双子的沼泽地里，我和杰把他连同其他被困工人救了出来。他还给了杰一个大大的拥抱，差点把杰的腰弄折了－－杰抱怨了好几天呢。他怎么会跟这些事有关？他为什么要背叛我们？不管怎样，镇长显然是无辜的，他只是被利用了而已，我得留下来帮助他－－还有整个诺姆。再三斟酌后，我向他讲述了关于卡洛夫的一切。 镇长当机立断，亲自跑出去喊工人们停工，我们紧随其后，但这似乎引发了一些恐慌。市民们聚向大街，纷纷打听出了什么事；工匠们从手脚架上爬了下来；还有几个看上去有权有势的家伙，气势汹汹地走向了他－－估计他们就是那个什么商委会的成员吧。 骷髅武士正暗藏在诺姆的某个角落里，监视着这一切，如果它还有面部肌肉的话，它此时的表情一定会很难看。国王知道了情况会气死的，它想。它悄然无息地离开了诺姆，跳上了隐藏在密林中的战车－－那辆战车的四个轮子奇大无比，长得好像一块头盖骨。战车行驶的速度越来越快，直至消失在了一道凭空出现的紫色闪光中，那是通往地下世界的通道。 市政厅里，争吵越来越激烈。商委会成员要求镇长对临时停工的通知做出解释，看样子有一些尊贵的代表和投资商很快就要来诺姆参观，他们希望这些江户塔楼的修复工作能够在他们莅临之前完成。塞莉尔向我和贾拉汉递了个眼神，我们悄悄地离开了市政厅。我不懂政治，平时也很少接触忍者国的各种政府机构，但即使如此，我也能看出来镇长现在的处境有多尴尬。塞莉尓也在为镇长难过，不过她是支持停工的。 她叹息着，望向远处林立的江户塔楼。最后一丝残阳消逝在远方的地平线，夜幕正在吞没大地，一轮月亮缓缓升起。我向塞莉尔坦白了剩余的一切－－杨大师的画像，贾拉汉的过往经历，还有关于卡洛夫和克劳斯的事。如果幕后黑手真的是克劳斯的话，至少还有个好处－－在黑暗之岛上，他是通过时空隧道逃跑的，虽然我不知道他穿越到了哪里，但他现在肯定不在忍者国，因此，我们还有充足的时间来做准备。未来会发生什么？我完全无法预料，那些古村落居民的离奇失踪尤其使我担忧。克劳斯很擅长用巫术让人们反目成仇，这就是卡洛夫背叛我们的原因吗？我不敢去想，但相比之下，我更害怕他的背叛完全出自于自己的意愿。 与此同时，一辆奇形怪状的骷髅战车伴随着一道紫色的闪光抵达了地下世界。

文末补充：

曼托尼亚（Metalonia，也有金属之城的意思），忍者国的地名，动画片里首次在第四季中提及，不知道诸位还有没有印象。

另附原文： I take a good look at Nom as I make my way to the city hall. Sounds of hammering echo though the streets. Dozen of carpenters are working on mending the buildings. The towers and their metal ornaments gleam in the setting sunlight, but knowing what I know now, I get an eerie feeling like nails are being hammered into a coffin. Jerahn, Seliel and her father waiting for me I step into the city hall. The atmosphere is tense, but the Mayor still insists on certain formalities, greeting me warmly and thanks again for the help during the Nindroid crisis. Jerahn shifts uncomfortably and impatiently. Seliel is stone-faced. It is not clear how much you have told her father, but he certainly knows something. I'm trying hard to look at my scar (rift) which does not feel natural. I know everything except exactly how I got all of this information.Seliel is concerned about "rogue magic" and to mention a conversation with a ghost on a painting would not help. I do everything I can to incriminate Jerahn as little as possible, and I talk to them through it, I seem relieved. I am trying hard to read his reactions. How much of this is new to him and what does he actually know I try to be as diplomatic as possible, but it is obvious that he takes some of it as an accusation. Also it seems that it has been completely oblivious to the fact that the Edo was abandoned under suspicious circumstances, but I let it finish before I erupted. "WHAT IS THIS!?! DO I LOOK LIKE A CROOK!?! I am the MAYOR of this fine town. I have RESPONSIBILITIES! The BOARD OF COMMERCE expect this town to become a CITY TO PROSPER and GROW! Our dealings with Borg Industries are not enough! We DO NOT need an image of INDUSTRY! We need CHARM . . . to DISTINCT PROFILE AUTHENTICITY! We need TOURISM!" He breathes hard as he have finishes his tirade. Then He deflates. He feels like man who has been under too much stress for too long, and has been led to do things he has not been completely confident with. Seliel and Jerahn look surprised as he changes from anger to fatigue. I should have never trusted that man. Why did I trust such a strange man?" He mutters to himself. "What man, father? Seliel asks." The Mayor sighs deeply "I had come by here 5 months ago I have not seen him before or since I have claimed these old plots of land with abandoned decaying villages on them; their houses' value, their historic significance and their precious rare metal ornamentation. I had wanted to make sure they would not wither and be lost to time. I had given the claims and a map for nothing I only had to promise I would honor his wishes and preserve the buildings. He had been going to leave for a while I had to ask him several times if I had understood his proposal right. He seemed sincere but he spoke in a very strange and broken accent. When he was going he said Metalonia." I feel like I am being hit by my own hammer again. What did I did look like? I ask. But I already know the answer to that. "Strange. He looked strange He had these big metal hands, beard and wore a heavy helmet." A big man, Seliel can tell that I am shaken. I was expecting that it was Clouse who had somehow found a way to fool the Mayor. But Karlof?!?! He is our friend now. Last time saw him, Jay and I had just freed him and the blacksmiths from Krux and Acronix's swamp facility. Jay complained for days about being so sore from his big iron grip hug. Why would he have turned. Why would I have been involved in this? I tell them about Karlof. The Mayor has been duped and I have no reservation to trust him now. I have my help. This whole town does. Suddenly the Greater panics. I need to stop this. I need to have bolts past me out of the city hall. Seconds after there is turmoil in the street. We follow. The Mayor is screaming at the carpenters to stop their work. People are peeking out of their houses and start gathering in the street. Several noble looking men, the board of commerce, I assume, march at the Major. The carpenters start to climb down from the buildings. From the edge of town, the Skullkin lookout swallows hard. Or whatever makes it up for swallowing hard in to Skullkin. The new King will not like this. No one notices the rattling of bones as it departs and makes its way into the forest where a grotesque skull-like vehicle on huge wheels awaits. As it reaches maximum speed, to blinding purple flash ejects it from Ninjago for its travel the realm known as the Underworld. Things are heating up inside the city hall. The board of commerce demands to know what is going on and why the Mayor has halted the construction. Apparently some distinguished delegates and potential investors will arrive in a few short days. They want the buildings to be completed so the town will look its best. Seliel signals me and Jerahn and we slip away. I feel bad for the Mayor. I have never understood politics and even the governments of Ninjago are unclear to me. Seliel is still pretty intense, but now her focus is directed at the bigger picture. She looks up at the Edo Towers where the last bit of sunlight has given away to darkness and the rising moon. She sighs. We fill in with EVERYTHING details of the dreams Master Yang's painting, Jerahn's past, Karlof and Clouse. If Clouse is behind this, I've had at least one big advantage. When I've been trying to escape from the Dark Island and I've escaped through the vortex, we've had no idea where I've escaped to. And I've obviously had both time and resources to plan this out. We have no idea what we are up against. The missing Edo-villagers worries me. We have seen Clouse use dark magic to turn people against each other before. Is this what has happened to Karlof? It's a dreadful thought, but I kind of hope so. The thought that he would turn against us by his own free will is worse. In the Underworld a grotesque skull-like vehicle arrives in a purple flash.