短篇翻译任务:--The Dagger[被遗忘的国度] （限时）
本任务限时一个月内完成
The Dagger
By Tony Montgomery
It was a relatively hot day in Calimport, the streets still fairly quiet in the daytime heat, Chullan was having some fun, entertaining a small gathering of children inside a temple courtyard. It was a place of goodness, yet a place where anything could happen. For the temple was that of Lillend, a relatively new demi-power in the Realms, and Lillend was known for her chaotic nature that surrounded her heart of goodness.
The children gasped with delight as the daggers twirled into the air in a circle. Chullan himself grinned. Five daggers wasn't too hard, but then, he had been training since he was little. It had fascinated him when he had first seen juggling. The circus had been near his village, and he had snuck in. Other children had exclaimed about the clowns and sword swallowers, but the juggler had held Chullan's attention.
Later, when the circus was over, he had not moved from the entrance to the circus. He never did see the clown who had tossed 10 daggers so effortlessly. He sighed, as he turned around and bumped into a tall man. His eyes caught the dagger in his belt, and he gasped... THIS was the clown!!
The man smiled a bit and pushed Chullan out of the way. As he walked onward he didn't notice a small hand, snatching out as quick as a wink... and a dream was born.
Chullan grinned as he looked at that same dagger in his boot top. His arms were covered with scars from his early attempts to toss those weapons, until he learned that he should try with rocks first. But it was well worth it.
He added another two daggers to the pattern, having to concentrate a bit more. He himself had never gotten past 8, and right now he was doing 7. He grinned, "Shall I add another?"
The big not-so-bright boy grinned stupidly, "DO TWENTY!" The children around him cried out in agreement. Chullan had come here to practice, as Lillend's temple was a quiet place normally. The children consequently received a free story.
Chullan shrugged. He figured at about ten knives, he would lose the pattern. He looked down at his belt and saw that he held 17 total daggers. A hand flashed down during a lull in the pattern and an eighth was added. The children cried with delight, loudly attracting the attention of a few acolytes who stopped to watch.
As he worked the daggers, he grinned, a slight sheen of sweat building on his arms... something just felt.... right. Again the hand flashed down once and then twice to add two more daggers, automatically he turned the one circle into a double circle to accommodate the amount of daggers flying. It sort of surprised him as he did this, as he noted that with two circles he could add more daggers.
"Well now, that's 10!! Ten more to go!!"
The children giggled as a few more acolytes gathered. One of the senior acolytes got angry with the younger ones being lazy and watching a stupid bard, and promptly went to tell a priest.
By the time the priests had arrived, worshipers who were leaving the temple stopped and watched the show. Children grinned and cheered, even as the adults said that he wouldn't be able to maintain the flight of knives for very long, and were astonished when Chullan challenged them to a bet of 20 bicenta. Immediately several takers took the bet.
Chullan looked at the pattern and noted that there was a lull within the right and left circle. He sped up his left hand so that the two "empty" spots came together as he tossed, and at that moment added another one, two, THREE daggers! It had even surprised him, as his jaw dropped... but he snapped it shut realizing he had an audience. The crowd laughed at his surprise, thinking that it was a part of the show.
Thirteen daggers twirled through the air as the priests came down to investigate the acolytes who were being lazy. They started to chastise the would-be priests, but were drowned by the cheering crowd as another dagger was added to the mass of twirling confusion.
Men and women giggled, and bets were placed even as a few coins began to fall at the juggler's feet. He grinned more to himself and continued to toss the fourteen daggers around and around. His confidence began to build and he frowned again as he lost the fifteenth dagger... cursing softly he moved towards where the dagger fell, and caught it neatly with his foot... again almost losing the entire load. His grin turned to a grimace.
"Careful, careful" he kicked his foot up and the dagger entered into the pattern but at the wrong angle, causing him to have to speed his right hand up. He was able to maintain both circles, as sweat began to drip into his eyes. Blinking rapidly he managed, after nearly five minutes, to get the pattern back in order. He wondered how far he dared to go??!!
The Mouse, the High Priest of Lillend, frowned. Where were the acolytes at? He had asked that one go get him paper and quill, but hadn't received it yet. Unknown to him, a young girl of about 9 was staring at a bard. The Mouse heard a cheer and looked out the window. What was this??!
His arms were burning, but he didn't stop. A man yelled at him, saying that he was not as good as the Black Rose... a challenge? Now Chullan knew better than challenging the Rose, but at the same time it felt "RIGHT!" His hands snapped down and up, once and then twice, the sixteenth dagger was in his hand and the seventeenth... was falling!! This time he wasn't able to use his foot, and the dagger landed by the dense boy whose mouth was wide open.
"Toss it!! Throw it here boy!"
Lunas looked down at the knife and then back at the bard. The bard smiled at him, and Lunas smiled back. He picked the dagger up and hurled it rather than tossed it.
Chullan gulped as he saw the boy wind up and throw as hard as he could. His hand flashed downward, and just before the dagger punctured his stomach, he snatched it from mid flight and tossed it up. He glared murder at the boy. The patterns of both circles were wavering. He muttered a short prayer to Tymora, as seventeen daggers flashed in the afternoon sun.
The Mouse grinned as Fiora, his fiance, joined him atop the hill, watching the bard juggle. That one had talent! He himself had only managed to juggle 7 daggers at one time.
Word spread like wildfire to everywhere in the temple district. People getting out from the sermons of other Churches, entered Lillend's temple to watch the bard, and the courtyard became more and more crowded. Nearly 800 people crowded into a place meant for only 500.
The old man had been watching the bard since he was on 15. He had been going now for some 10 minutes, and even now was trying to hold the wavering pattern. More and more people were entering the temple.
Shadragux, the current Vizier and, like Lillend, a new demi-power in the Realms, looked out over his city, and noted the confusion... a ripple in the fabric of reality. Shadragux was a power of balance, the calm before the storm. This normally happened when a great spell was cast, or a great event happened. As his mind reached out to investigate he saw the crowds gathering at the temple.
Lillend herself smiled down upon Chullan, even though she knew the bard was praying to Tymora. A slight breeze began to blow, cooling the bard.
More and more people were leaving the various churches within the temple district, and the crowds entering Lillend's temple made them curious, thus causing more people to crowd in. Over a thousand were inside the temple now, all from various faiths, and the bets were flying. Everything from whether the bard would be able to add another dagger, to how much longer he could hold on to the daggers he currently was juggling, or if it were simply the Black Rose in disguise.
The old man grinned suddenly as he listened to the bets fly. There was nearly 400 bicenta in front of the bard now, but none would touch it, as it was sort of an unspoken code to not touch the bard's earnings.
Chullan was desperate. His arms were weary, and he didn't think he could hold on much longer. Suddenly the breeze began to whisper, cooling him off from the Calimsham heat. He forced his arms to move faster, and worked through the pain. The pattern began to stabilize. Chullan grinned suddenly and challenged them to toss another dagger into the fray. The old man obliged him and a dagger went flying into the air... EIGHTEEN!! People began to scream the children cheered Chullan, Chullan himself begin to scream in triumph!! EIGHTEEN!!
EIGHTEEN DAGGERS!!
Shadragux grinned, and began to place bets with Mask. Lillend smiled and silently promised a gift if he made twenty. Bards applauded, and Chullan tossed for all he was worth. Beshaba, the Lady of Ill luck looked down.
Chullan felt his arms weakening... he listened to the dense boy cry out for twenty. Others said it was impossible. Even his fanatic children fans were skeptical. But the boy grinned... Right now Lunas thought that Chullan could toss a hundred. But twenty would be fine.
"Bet against me?? I will give you nineteen!! Who says I cannot??!!" Bets were placed, and the old man tossed. The dagger was mistimed, and Chullan almost stumbled. The wind died down, causing him to sweat profusely. His arms were on fire. His left foot shot out, and caught the dagger, kicking it up into the sky, and the dagger was thrown into the pattern where there wasn't a lull. Chullan struggled to force it in, his arms a blur of motion despite the muscle pain. He held on barely, and though his arms were dying and his throat dry, his heart pounded more from excitement than weariness.
People screamed, and more bets were placed. Gods looked down. The old man's half-smile caught Chullan's eyes. He kept the grin plastered on his face even though he wished he could collapse. He began to seek a way to gracefully bow out.
"Fifteen hundred bicenta says he can toss twenty daggers" the old man stated loudly. Men rushed to take his bet. The dense boy only had eyes for Chullan. Chullan gulped. Gods laughed at the foolishness of mortals, but wondered if it could be done?
The old man smiled, "Its your show bard," as he tossed up another dagger.
Chullan wasn't ready!! The pattern wasn't ready. His arms weren't ready!! As the dagger came down, Chullan knew he could not add it into the pattern. What little lull there was in his right hand was timed to be on the bottom of the circle rather than the top. He needed it at the top in order to receive the dagger. His left hand couldn't take anymore. The dagger fell past the circles a bit to his right. A voice cried out something like, "You don't know what sacrifice is"... Chullan thought "I know sacrifice! Look at my arms!"
His right foot shot out and up, and a dagger jabbed down into his foot, bringing blood, He grimaced and hung on.
Bards cheered!! The show must go on!! Gods raised eyebrows. The man was mad! The crowd screamed.
Everything slowed down for the bard. The dagger was at the bottom of the circle sticking out of his foot. The lull in the pattern was also at the bottom, he waited half a second and kicked up, forcing his foot to flick. More pain as the dagger left his foot. He watched in amazement as he knew exactly how many turns the dagger would take before it entered the pattern. His hand tossed a juggled dagger up, and moved out slightly, catching the upcoming one by the tip, and simply pushed it upwards. The circle wavered slightly. His hand went back down, catching a falling dagger. The world shifted back into focus. He was still juggling, the circles a blur of twenty daggers. His ears became filled with a chant from the crowds, like a thunderous roar, "THE DAGGER! THE DAGGER!! THE DAGGER!!!"
Chullan smiled, and threw the daggers in the air like a showering fountain of steel, and he stepped back. The daggers piercing the sandy ground around the coin that was piled nearby. He scooped up his daggers, and the money, the roar of the crowd still filling the air. His head held high, as he smiled to the dense boy, and past through his now adoring fans.
So it was that Chullan, became Chullan The Many Handed, or just as The Dagger in some places. Now the most famous juggler in all of the southern Realms. Twenty daggers, for but an instant, twirling through the air. Gods both smiled and frowned on him that day, for he had even challenged them, sort of.
