地精烤肉那段我也翻译过啊,好像是第十章的开篇吧。
第十章
伪装成了一个矮胖厚皮的瘸腿兽人(很明显,没有哪个贵族甚至是一个商会愿意要他为自己服务的),费瑞恩试尝了一口手中的香肠卷(热狗!?)。其中包裹的可疑香肠吃起来又臭又硬,而且里面居然还是冷的。
Cloaked in the semblance of a squat, leathery-skinned ore, whose twisted leg manifestly made him unfit for service in a noble or even merchant House, Pharaun took an experimental bite of his sausage and roll. The unidentifiable ground meat inside the casing tasted rank and was gristly, as well as cold at the core.
“真该死!”他大声抱怨。
"By the Demonweb!" he exclaimed.
“怎么了?”瑞厄德回答。
"What?" Ryld replied.
武器大师也打扮成一个衣衫肮脏褴褛且地位卑微的老兽人。难以置信的是,他竟能大口吞吃这些低劣的食物还毫无怨言。
The weapons master too appeared to be a scurvy, broken-down ore in grubby rags. Unbelievably, he was devouring his vile repast without any overt show of repugnance.
“怎么了?”术士学院的导师挥舞着手中的香肠。“我说的是这个烂东西。这个恶心的玩意。”
"What?" The Master of Sorcere brandished his sausage. "This travesty. This abomination."
他朝罪魁祸首的摊位走去——那是一座用骨头棒子和几张兽皮搭建的可怜的小建筑,并小心地控制着步伐。在幻术伪装下,他走起路来看上去一瘸一拐的,但如果一个瘸腿兽人被人看到用不亚于双腿健全者的速度行走,那么再高明的幻术也会被揭穿。
He headed for the culprit's kiosk, a sad little construction of bone poles and sheets of hide, taking care not to walk too quickly. His veil of illusion would make it look as if he were limping, but it wouldn't conceal the anomaly of a lame ore covering ground as quickly as one with two good legs.
长臂扁脸的地精摊主从柜台底下抽出了一根棍棒,或许这就是他平时用来对付抱怨的方法。
The long-armed, flat-faced goblin proprietor produced a cudgel from beneath the counter. Perhaps he was used to complaints.
费瑞恩举起一只手说“我没有恶意。事实上,我想帮助你。”
Pharaun raised a hand and said, "I mean no harm. In fact, I want to help."
地精眯起了眼睛。“帮助?”
The goblin's eyes narrowed. "Help?"
“是的,为此我甚至愿意付些小费。”他说着从钱包里取出一枚铜币。“我只是想要教你一些东西。”
"Yes. I'll even pay another penny for the privilege." he said as he extracted a copper coin from his purse. "I just want to show you something."
厨子犹豫了一下,然后伸出一只指甲脏兮兮的手说,“先给钱,别耍花样。”
The cook hesitated, then held out a dirty-nailed hand and said, "Give. No tricks."
“不耍花样。”
"No tricks."
费瑞恩出乎地精意料的给了它几枚小钱,然后挤进了柜台末端的小厨房。他先用自己的斗篷包住手,再把滚烫的铁制烤肉架连同上面的烤肉一起从托架上移了下来,放到一边。
Pharaun surrendered the coins and to the goblin's surprise, squirmed around the end of the counter and crowded into the miniature kitchen. He wrapped his hand in a fold of his cloak, slid the hot iron grill with its load of meat from its brackets, and set it aside.
“首先,”费瑞恩说,“你得把火盆底下的炭块铺均匀。”他摘下一根烧火棍开始做示范。“然后,虽然现在我们没时间从头开始做,但得把它们一直烧至灰白色。只有到了那时,你才能开始烧烤,而且烤肉架得这么放。”
"First," Pharaun said, "you spread the coals evenly at the bottom of the brazier." He picked up a poker and demonstrated. "Next, though we don't have time to start from scratch right now, you let them burn to gray. Only then do you start cooking, with the grill positioned here."
他把烤肉架移到了距离火盆更高的托架上。
He replaced the utensil in a higher set of brackets.
“香肠更费时间,烤,”地精说。
"Sausage take longer to fry," the goblin said.
“你反正闲着也是闲着。现在,我怀疑你是从别处买来了这些原料可疑的...珍馐美味从而无法保证其质量,但至少你可以用那根肉锤锤个几下让它们嫩化,用肉叉在上面戳上几个洞帮助火力渗透进去,再把这些调料给它们撒上点。”费瑞恩露齿一笑。“你原先从没干过这个,对吧?你是不是杀了那个真厨子再把这个小摊据为己有了?
"Do you have somewhere to go? Now, I'm going to assume you buy these questionable delicacies elsewhere and thus can do nothing about the quality, but you can at least tenderize them with a few whacks from that mallet, poke a few holes with the fork to help them cook on the inside, and sprinkle some of these spices on them." Pharaun grinned. "You've never so much as touched a lot of this stuff, have you? What did you do, murder the real chef and take possession of his enterprise?"
矮小的生物得意地笑着说,“无关紧要,现在,不是吗?”
The smaller creature smirked and said, "Don't matter now, do it?"
“说得对。最后一件事:等客人点了后才能开始烤香肠,不要数小时之前就预先烤好了。因为凉了之后再热会影响它的口感。祝你发大财。”
"I suppose not. One last thing: Roast the sausage when the customer orders it, not hours beforehand. It isn't nearly as appetizing if it's cooked, allowed to cool, then warmed again. Good fortune to you."
他拍拍地精的肩膀,挤出了柜台。
He clapped the goblin on the shoulder, then exited the stand.
不知何时,瑞厄德已经溜达过来聆听了他的授课。
At some point, Ryld had wandered up to observe the lesson.
“你刚才在干吗?”战士问。
"What was the point of that?" the warrior asked.
“我在为大众服务,”法师回答,“让布里尔林(Braeryn,魔索布莱城内的卓尔贫民和其他种族)免受消化不良的折磨。”
"I was performing a public service," answered the wizard, "preserving the Braeryn from a plague of dyspepsia."
费瑞恩和他的朋友一起,两个黑暗精灵继续向前走。
Pharaun fell in beside his friend, and the two dark elves walked on.
“刚才的那番自娱自乐就像个白痴。你这个老餮尽给咱俩惹麻烦,也不怕被人识破了。”
"You were amusing yourself, and it was idiotic. You take the trouble to disguise us, then risk revealing your true identity by playing the gourmet."