Decumus Scotti was drowning, and he didn't think much of it. He couldn't move his arms or his legs to swim because of the paralysis spell the Argonian peasant had lobbed at him, but he wasn't quite sinking. The Onkobra River was a crashing force of white water and currents that could carry along large rocks with ease, so Scotti tumbled head over heels, spinning, bumping, bouncing along.
Scotti 被水淹沒(méi)黔酥，他也沒(méi)什么辦法评架，因?yàn)槟莾蓚€(gè)鄉(xiāng)巴佬的魔法搞得他手腳無(wú)法動(dòng)彈远寸，但他又不會(huì)那么快的沉入水底。Onkobra河水湍急援雇，能夠把大巖石沖刷成鵝卵石，Scotti順?biāo)轮刈铮谒髦蟹瓭L腐碱。
He figured that soon enough he would be dead, and that would be better than being in Black Marsh. He wasn't too panicked about it all when he felt his lungs fill with water and cold blackness fell upon him.
他想是不是自己快要死了，至少也比在Black Marsh強(qiáng)的多蛹疯。他的肺部灌滿了河水戒财，而寒冷也包圍著他，這時(shí)他反而感到不那么驚慌捺弦。
For a while, for the first time in some time, Decumus Scotti felt peace. Blessed darkness. And then pain came to him, and he felt himself coughing, spewing water up from his belly and his lungs.
過(guò)了不知道多久饮寞，第一次，出發(fā)到Black Marsh以來(lái)的第一次列吼，他感到平靜幽崩，感謝黑暗。一陣刺痛襲來(lái)寞钥，他忍不住咳嗽起來(lái)慌申，一陣猛吐，把體內(nèi)的積水吐了出來(lái)理郑。
A voice said, "Oh bother, he's alive, ain't he, now?"
一個(gè)聲音說(shuō)到”噢蹄溉，他還活著咨油，接下來(lái)怎么辦？“
Scotti wasn't quite sure if that were true, even when he opened his eyes and looked at the face above him. It was an Argonian, but unlike any he had seen anywhere. The face was thin and long like a thick lance; the scales were ruby-red, brilliant in the sunlight. It blinked at him, its eyelids opening and closing in vertical slits.
Scotti睜開眼睛看了看四周都還不敢相信自己還活著类缤，眼前是一個(gè)Argonian人臼勉，和他看到的其他Argonian人不同邻吭，他的臉又長(zhǎng)又消瘦餐弱，像一柄長(zhǎng)矛。他的鱗片是紅寶石樣的深紅色囱晴，在陽(yáng)光的照射下閃爍著刺眼的光芒膏蚓，他的眼睛睜開閉上時(shí)中間有條垂直的縫隙.
"I don't suppose we should eat you, should we now?" the creature smiled, and Scotti could tell from its teeth that it was no idle suggestion.
"我們不會(huì)吃了你的,你覺(jué)得呢?"那個(gè)人笑道,Scotti聽他的口吻沒(méi)有惡意.
"Thank you," said Scotti weakly. He craned his head slightly to find out who the "we" were, and discovered he was on the muddy bank of the still, sludgy river, surrounded by a group of Argonians with similarly needle-like faces and a whole rainbow of scales. Bright greens and gem-like purples, blues, and oranges.
"謝謝你，"Scotti微弱地說(shuō)道畸写。他抬頭看了看確認(rèn)那個(gè)人說(shuō)的”我們“是哪些生物驮瞧。發(fā)現(xiàn)他在一個(gè)泥濘的河岸邊上，被一群細(xì)長(zhǎng)臉龐而又五顏六色的鱗片的Argonian人圍著枯芬，像彩虹一樣多的顏色的鱗片。
"Can you tell me, am I near - well, anywhere?"
”你能告訴我我在什么地方千所？“
The ruby-colored Argonian laughed. "No. You're in the middle of everywhere, and near nowhere."
有著深紅色鱗片的Argonian人笑道”你在任何地方的中心狂魔，又靠近任何位置∫担“
"Oh," said Scotti, who grasped the idea that space did not mean much in Black Marsh. "And what are you?"
”噢最楷。“Scotti說(shuō)到待错，突然想到了在Black Marshall沒(méi)有位置的概念籽孙。”你們是誰(shuí)火俄？“
"We are Agacephs," the ruby-colored Argonian replied. "My name is Nomu."
“我們是Agaceph犯建。”這個(gè)紅色的Argonian人回答說(shuō),"我叫Nomu瓜客。"
Scotti introduced himself. "I'm a senior clerk in Lord Vanech's Building Commission in the Imperial City. My job was to come here to try to fix the problems with commerce, but I've lost my agenda, haven't met with any of my contacts, the Archeins of Gideon..."
Scotti介紹了他自己适瓦。“我是Lord Vanech的公司職員派來(lái)這里解決這里貿(mào)易的一些問(wèn)題忆家，但是我丟失了我的合同文件犹菇，工作日程也打亂了。還約見了Gideon的Archeins芽卿。揭芍。。卸例。称杨。肌毅。”
"Pompous, assimiliated, slaver kleptocrats," a small lemon-colored Agaceph murmured with some feeling.
“這個(gè)自大的姑原，種族主義悬而，貪官奴隸主《а矗”一個(gè)淺黃色小個(gè)兒Agaceph人憤憤地笑聲嘀咕道笨奠。
"...And now I just want to go home."
“現(xiàn)在我想回家』脚梗”
Nomu smiled, his long mouth arching up like a host happy to see an unwanted guest leave a party. "Shehs will guide you."
Nomu 笑的合不攏嘴般婆，就像是主人看到不受歡迎的客人離開聚會(huì)的樣子《涫牛“Shehs會(huì)帶你走的蔚袍。”
Shehs, it seemed, was the bitter little yellow creature, and he was not at all pleased at the assignment. With surprising strength, he hoisted Scotti up, and for a moment, the clerk was reminded of Gemullus dropping him into the bubbling muck that led to the Underground Express. Instead, Shehs shoved Scotti toward a tiny little raft, razor-thin, that bobbed on the surface of the water.
Shehs配名，就是那個(gè)一臉苦相的小個(gè)兒啤咽，帶著點(diǎn)兒不情愿走過(guò)來(lái)，把Scotti扶起來(lái)渠脉。這讓Scotti想起之前Gemullus把他拉進(jìn)一片冒泡的淤泥上面讓他坐地下快車的是宇整。不過(guò)這次，Shehs把他放到一個(gè)如刀片般輕薄的小筏上连舍。
"This is how you travel?"
“這就是你們旅行的方式没陡？”
"We don't have the broken wagons and dying horses of our brothers on the outside," Shehs replied, rolling his tiny eyes. "We don't know better."
“我們不像外面的那些同胞，不需要那些破舊的拖車和快死的馬匹索赏∨涡”Shehs轉(zhuǎn)動(dòng)著他的小眼睛回復(fù)到“我們了解不深∏蹦澹”
The Argonian sat at the back of the craft and used his whip-like tail to propel and navigate the craft. They traveled quickly around swirling pools of slime that stank of centuries of putrefaction, past pinnacled mountains that seemed sturdy but suddenly fell apart at the slightest ripple in the still water, under bridges that might have once been metal but were now purely rust.
這個(gè)Argonian人坐在筏艇的后面用他的鞭子一樣的尾巴劃著水埃儿。劃得很快，穿過(guò)由數(shù)世紀(jì)的淤泥積成而來(lái)的泥漿漩渦水流融涣。倒映在湖水中的山頂影子被滑行的筏子的波紋打亂童番。穿過(guò)許多過(guò)去搭建的如今早已腐朽的金屬大橋。
"Everything in Tamriel flows down to Black Marsh," Shehs said.
“Tamriel的所有東西都沖到Black Marsh來(lái)了威鹿√旮”Shehs說(shuō)著。
As they slid through the water, Shehs explained to Scotti that the Agacephs were one of the many Argonian tribes that lived in the interior of the province, near the Hist, finding little in the outside world worth seeing. He was fortunate to have been found by them. The Nagas, the toad-like Paatru, and the winged Sarpa would have killed him on the spot.
在路上忽你，SHehs給他介紹到Agaceph族是眾多Argonian分支的一個(gè)幼东，他們生活在大陸的中部，靠近Hist，很少到外面的世界根蟹。他很幸運(yùn)被他們找到了脓杉。如果是Nagas，Paatru和Sarpa之類的恐怕早就命喪此地了简逮。
There were other creatures too to be avoided. Though there were few natural predators in inner Black Marsh, the scavengers that rooted in the garbage seldom shied away from a living meal. Hackwings circled overhead, like the ones Scotti had seen in the west.
還有一些生物要小心的球散。因?yàn)檫@里的肉食動(dòng)物比較稀少，所以一些食腐類動(dòng)物都不怎么害怕活物散庶。老鷹也在天空盤旋蕉堰。就像Scotti在西部看到的那樣子。
Shehs fell silent and stopped the raft completely, waiting for something.
這時(shí)Shehs停了下來(lái)并馬上停止說(shuō)話督赤。像是等待著什么東西嘁灯。
Scotti looked in the direction Shehs was watching, and saw nothing unusual in the filthy water. Then, he realized that the pool of green slime in front of them was actually moving, and fairly quickly, from one bank to the other. It deposited small bones behind it as it oozed up into the reeds, and disappeared.
Scotti朝著Shehs注視的方向望去泻蚊，不過(guò)在這骯臟的水中并沒(méi)有什么發(fā)現(xiàn)異常躲舌。這時(shí)他看到他前面的綠色的淤泥突然開始移動(dòng)，很快地從岸的一邊到另一邊性雄。然后進(jìn)入到一片蘆葦中没卸，消失了，只留下一灘骨頭秒旋。
"Voriplasm," Shehs explained, moving the boat forward again. "Big word. It'll strip you to the bone by the second syllable."
“那是Voriplasm约计，”Shehs解釋道。又重新開始劃起船來(lái)迁筛∶喊觯“毫不夸張的說(shuō)，你還沒(méi)有發(fā)出第二聲细卧，它就把你吃的只剩骨頭了尉桩。”
Scotti, desirous to distract himself from the sights and smells that surrounded him, thought it a good time to compliment his pilot on his excellent vocabulary. It was particularly impressive, given how far from civilization they were. The Argonians in the east did, in fact, speak so well.
Scotti嘗試把注意力從這片情形和氣味重轉(zhuǎn)移出去贪庙，看來(lái)他需要好好的贊揚(yáng)他的領(lǐng)航員知識(shí)淵博能說(shuō)會(huì)道蜘犁。印象深刻的是遠(yuǎn)離文明世界那么久，仍然如此健談止邮。
"They tried to erect a Temple of Mara near here, in Umpholo, twenty years ago," Shehs explained, and Scotti nodded, remembering reading about it in the files before they were lost. "They all perished quite dreadfully of swamp rot in the first month, but they left behind some excellent books."
“二十年前这橙，一些人在Umpholo，離這里不遠(yuǎn)的地方準(zhǔn)備建立一座Mara的廟宇导披∏”Shehs說(shuō)到，Scotti點(diǎn)點(diǎn)頭撩匕，回憶起了他讀過(guò)的那些已經(jīng)丟失的文件里面的內(nèi)容鹰晨。“在那些沼澤開始腐敗后，一個(gè)月之內(nèi)他們?nèi)肯嗬^死去并村。但是他們留下來(lái)一些不錯(cuò)的書籍巍实。”
Scotti was going to inquire further when he saw something so huge, so horrifying, it made him stop, frozen.
Scotti正想問(wèn)個(gè)究竟哩牍，這時(shí)他看到一個(gè)可怕的巨大的東西在他面前棚潦。一下動(dòng)彈不得。
Half submerged in the water ahead was a mountain of spines, lying on nine-foot-long claws. White eyes stared blindly forward, and then suddenly the whole creature spasmed and lurched, the jaw of its mouth jutting out, exposing tusks clotted with gore.
一半露出水面的是巨大的如山一樣的脊柱膝昆，9英尺長(zhǎng)的厲爪丸边，白色的眼睛看著前方。突然間這個(gè)龐然大物開始抽搐荚孵，然后傾倒在旁邊妹窖。嘴巴張開，露出白森森的牙齒收叶，間或有淤血在上面骄呼。
"Swamp Leviathan," Shehs whistled, impressed. "Very, very dangerous."
“Swamp Leviathan”Shehs小聲說(shuō)道“非常非常危險(xiǎn)!”
Scotti gasped, wondering why the Agaceph was so calm, and more, why he was continuing to steer the raft forward towards the beast..
Scotti倒吸一口氣，但突然奇怪為什么Agaceph如此平靜判没，不僅如此蜓萄，他還開始劃船繼續(xù)向這個(gè)怪物劃過(guò)去。
"Of all the creatures in the world, the rats are sometimes the worst," said Shehs, and Scotti noticed that the huge creature was only a husk. Its movement was from the hundreds of rats that had burrowed into it, rapidly eating their way from the inside out, bursting from the skin in spots.
“在所有的生物里邊澄峰，有時(shí)候老鼠是最最可怕的生物嫉沽。”Shehs說(shuō)到俏竞，這時(shí)Scotti注意到绸硕，那個(gè)龐然大物只剩下一張皮。成百上千的老鼠在體內(nèi)竄動(dòng)魂毁，從里到外吃的只剩下一張皮玻佩，面上早已布滿鼠洞。
"They are indeed," Scotti said, and his mind went to the Black Marsh files, buried deep in the mud, and four decades of Imperial work in Black Marsh.
“確實(shí)如此”漱牵。Scotti說(shuō)到夺蛇。他的思緒飛到了Black Marsh他丟失文件的地方，被埋進(jìn)了淤泥沼澤里面酣胀。40余年的辛苦研究資料毀于一旦刁赦。
The two continued westward through the heart of Black Marsh.
他們兩個(gè)人穿過(guò)Black Barsh的中心繼續(xù)朝西前進(jìn)。
Shehs showed Scotti the vast complicated ruins of the Kothringi capitals, fields of ferns and flowered grasses, quiet streams under canopies of blue moss, and the most astonishing sight of Scotti's life—the great forest of full-grown Hist trees. They never saw a living soul until they arrived at the edge of the Imperial Commerce Road just east of Slough Point, where Mailic, Scotti's Redguard guide, was waiting patiently.
Shehs 給Scotti展示著河流沿岸的景色闻镶，Kothringi城的宏大繁雜遺跡甚脉，植被茂密的種類各異的林地。藍(lán)色苔蘚下的靜靜流淌著的溪流铆农。這些景觀深深的震撼著Scotti牺氨，更有Hist大樹高聳入云讓他畢生難忘狡耻。一路上安全無(wú)事沒(méi)有遇到一個(gè)活物。直到抵達(dá)了Slough Point東部的帝國(guó)大道的邊界猴凹，才看到了Mailic夷狰，他的護(hù)衛(wèi)還在耐心的等著他。
"I was going to give you two more minutes," the Redguard scowled, dropping the last of his food onto the pile at his feet. "No more, sir."
“我準(zhǔn)備給你2分鐘時(shí)間”Mailic冷冷地說(shuō)道郊霎。丟下他所剩的食物在Scotti腳下沼头。“沒(méi)有多少了书劝〗叮”
The sun was shining bright when Decumus Scotti rode into the Imperial City, and as it caught the morning dew, it lent a glisten to every building as if they had been newly polished for his arrival. It astonished him how clean the city was. And how few beggars there were.
初生的太陽(yáng)照耀著大地，Scotti也抵達(dá)Imperial城购对。一切沐浴在朝陽(yáng)中猾昆，晨露在陽(yáng)光下閃爍，仿佛為了歡迎他回家骡苞，一切都是那么干凈整潔垂蜗，連乞討者都變少了。
The protracted edifice of Lord Vanech's Building Commission was the same as it had always been, but still the very sight of it seemed exotic and strange. It was not covered in mud. The people within actually, generally, worked.
那座巨大的Lord Vanech的建筑物依然如故烙如，仍然看起來(lái)別扭并且毫無(wú)美感可言么抗。并沒(méi)有被掩埋，里面的人也認(rèn)真地工作著亚铁。
Lord Vanech himself, though singularly squat and squinty, seemed immaculate, not only relatively clean of dirt and scabs, but also relatively uncorrupt. Scotti couldn't help but stare at him when he first caught sight of his boss. Vanech stared right back.
Lord Vanech他自己，又矮又有斜視螟加，但打扮的干凈整潔徘溢，一塵不染。Scotti不由自主地打量他的老板捆探，而這時(shí)Vanech也注視著他然爆。
"You are a sight," the little fellow frowned. "Did your horse drag you to Black Marsh and back? I would say go home and fix yourself, but there are a dozen people here to see you. I hope you have solutions for them."
“你是個(gè)幸運(yùn)兒∈蛲迹”小個(gè)子微微皺著眉曾雕，“你是不是被馬兒拉到了沼澤里面又回來(lái)了啊。我本來(lái)想讓你回家收拾下助被，但是已經(jīng)有很多人在等著接見你剖张。我希望他們滿意你這次的旅行】罚”
It was no exaggeration. Nearly twenty of Cyrodiil's most powerful and wealthiest people were waiting for him. Scotti was given an office even larger than Lord Vanech's, and he met with each.
毫不夸張的說(shuō)搔弄，至少有20多位Cyrodiil有權(quán)有勢(shì)的人正在等著他。Scotti被安排一個(gè)比Lord大的多的辦公室里接見他們丰滑。
First among the Commission's clients were five independent traders, blustering and loaded with gold, demanding to know what Scotti intended to do about improving the trade routes. Scotti summarized for them the conditions of the main roads, the state of the merchants' caravans, the sunken bridges, and all the other impediments between the frontier and the marketplace. They told him to have everything replaced and repaired, and gave him the gold necessary to do it.
第一個(gè)他接見的是5個(gè)腰纏萬(wàn)貫的自由貿(mào)易者顾犹，急切的想知道Scotti有什么措施改進(jìn)他們的這條貿(mào)易線路。Scotti簡(jiǎn)要的介紹那條道路情況，商人的貨車炫刷，那些淹沒(méi)的橋梁擎宝，那些所有關(guān)于貿(mào)易障礙的情況。他們讓他想辦法處理這些浑玛，而金錢不是問(wèn)題认臊。
Within three months, the bridge at Slough Point had disappeared into the muck; the great caravan had collapsed into decrepitude; and the main road from Gideon had been utterly swallowed up by swamp water. The Argonians began once again to use the old ways, their personal rafts and sometimes the Underground Express to transport the grain in small quantities. It took a third of the time, two weeks, to arrive in Cyrodiil, none of it rotten.
3個(gè)月之內(nèi)，在Slough Point的那座橋被淤泥淹沒(méi)锄奢，車隊(duì)也分崩離析失晴，通往Gideon的主要道路也被沼澤所吞沒(méi)。Argonian人再一次用他們的老辦法拘央，他們私人的小筏和地下快車來(lái)少量的運(yùn)送糧食涂屁。不過(guò)比起以前只用了以前三分之一的時(shí)間，2周時(shí)間就抵達(dá)Cyrodiil灰伟，而且食物也沒(méi)有變質(zhì)拆又。
The Archbishop of Mara was the next client Scotti met with. A kindhearted man, horrified by the tales of Argonian mothers selling their children into slavery, he pointedly asked Scotti if it were true.
第二個(gè)參見的是Mara大主教。一個(gè)仁慈的人栏账，被故事里面那個(gè)賣自己親生骨肉的Argonian母親所嚇到帖族，求證Scotti確有其事。
"Sadly, yes," Scotti replied, and the Archbishop showered him with septims, telling the clerk that food must be brought to the province to ease their suffering, and the schools must be improved so they could learn to help themselves.
“不幸的是挡爵，這是真的”Scotti回復(fù)后竖般，大主教留下了一大筆錢，告訴他要讓他用這些錢建立學(xué)校茶鹃，讓他們進(jìn)步涣雕，然后自理更生，把糧食帶到那里免得那些人受此罪孽闭翩。
Within five months, the last book had been stolen from the deserted Maran monastery in Umphollo. As the Archeins went bankrupt, their slaves returned to his parents' tiny farms. The backwater Argonians found that they could grow enough to feed their families provided they had enough hard workers in their enclave, and the buyers market for slaves sharply declined.
5個(gè)月之內(nèi)挣郭，在Umphollo廢棄的Maran修道院中的書被偷走。而Archein一家也宣告破產(chǎn)疗韵。他們的奴隸們回到了自己的家中兑障，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)只要他們努力仍然可以養(yǎng)活自己一家人。而買賣奴隸的市場(chǎng)也逐漸退出舞臺(tái)蕉汪。
Ambassador Tsleeixth, concerned about the rising crime in northern Black Marsh, brought with him the contributions of many other expatriate Argonians like himself. They wanted more Imperial guards on the border on the border at Slough Point, more magically lit lanterns posted along the main roads at regular intervals, more patrol stations, and more schools built to allow young Argonians to better themselves and not turn to crime.
Tsleeixth大使流译，提到了Black Marsh北部的居高不下的犯罪率，帶來(lái)了他和其他在異國(guó)他鄉(xiāng)的Argonian們籌集的善款肤无。他們希望多增加帝國(guó)的衛(wèi)士在Slough Point先蒋，在主要大路上點(diǎn)上燈籠，和更多的巡邏站宛渐。還有建立學(xué)校讓更多的年輕Argonian人提升自我而不是去犯罪竞漾。
Within six months, there were no more Nagas roaming the roads, as there were no merchants traveling them to rob. The thugs returned to the fetid inner swamp, where they felt much happier, their constitutions enriched by the rot and pestilence that they loved. Tsleeixth and his constituency were so pleased by the crime rate dropping, they brought even more gold to Decumus Scotti, telling him to keep up the good work.
在六個(gè)月之內(nèi)眯搭，Naga們便不再出沒(méi)于大路周邊，因?yàn)樵缫褯](méi)有商人經(jīng)過(guò)那些已經(jīng)淹沒(méi)的道路业岁。這些大家伙只好返回他們骯臟的沼澤深處鳞仙，在那里他們會(huì)感覺(jué)好點(diǎn)，有他們喜歡的腐敗的環(huán)境笔时。Tsleeixth和他的選民們很滿意棍好，因?yàn)榉缸锫氏陆担麄冇纸oScotti帶來(lái)了更多的錢允耿，希望他能繼再接再厲借笙。
Black Marsh simply was, is, and always shall be unable to sustain a large-scale, cash-crop plantation economy. The Argonians, and anyone else, the whole of Tamriel, could live in Black Marsh on subsistence farming, just raising what they needed. That was not sad, Scotti thought; that was hopeful.
Black Marsha地區(qū)特色注定了它不能支持一個(gè)大型的經(jīng)濟(jì)作物種植區(qū)。不過(guò)较锡，Argonian人和其他Tamriel人只要生活在這里自給自足那是完全可以的业稼。這也不是什么壞事，Scotti想著蚂蕴，這也是他希望的低散。
Scotti's solution to each of their dilemmas had been the same. Ten percent of the gold they gave him went to Lord Vanech's Building Commission. The rest Scotti kept for himself, and did exactly nothing about the requests.
Scotti每攬一件事情都向委員會(huì)上交10%，其他的都流入他自己的腰包骡楼。而其實(shí)以上事情全是自然因素造成的熔号，Scotti坐享其成，從沒(méi)有進(jìn)行干預(yù)鸟整。
Within a year, Decumus Scotti had embezzled enough to retire very comfortably, and Black Marsh was better off than it had been in forty years.
一年之內(nèi)引镊，Scotti撈足油水風(fēng)光退休。而Black Marsh也風(fēng)平浪靜這是40多年從來(lái)沒(méi)有過(guò)的情形吃嘿。
