132 与野兽相遇

旁白 neutral

Zann gulped. Wyssa didn't have a plan to find Morb!

赞恩咽了下口水。威萨竟然没有寻找莫布的计划！

旁白 neutral

It was a strange thought. Wyssa usually knew everything

这想法真奇怪。威萨通常无所不知。

旁白 neutral

Perda looked stunned for a second too

佩达也愣了一秒。

旁白 neutral

Then she cleared her throat

然后她清了清嗓子。

旁白 neutral

" I've read every word of Zann's parents' books," she told Wyssa

“赞恩父母的书我每一个字都读过，”她对威萨说。

旁白 neutral

" In the one about the Far Frontier, they talked about how hard it was to walk on the shifting sand."

“在那本讲遥远边境的书里，他们提到在流沙上行走有多困难。”

旁白 neutral

" Yes, and what's your point?" Wyssa sounded irritated

“是啊，那你想说什么？”威萨听上去很不耐烦。

旁白 neutral

" We can't zap while we're here. The magic is too unpredictable."

“我们在这里没法用传送术。这里的魔力太不稳定了。”

旁白 neutral

" Nax and Asta befriended some of the nomads who live here."

“纳克斯和阿斯塔跟住在这里的一些游牧民交了朋友。”

旁白 neutral

Perda waved a hand at the desert surrounding them

佩达朝环绕着他们的沙漠挥了挥手。

旁白 neutral

" The nomads taught them to summon something called a hoof beast."

“游牧民族教他们召唤一种叫蹄兽的东西。”

旁白 neutral

" A hoof beast?" Gliss echoed." What's that?"

“蹄兽？”格利斯跟着问，“那是什么？”

旁白 neutral

" It's a native desert animal," Darb said." I've read about them."

“那是一种沙漠本土动物，”达布说，“我在书上读到过。”

旁白 neutral

Perda nodded." The nomads taught Zann's parents to control them using just a little bit of magic

佩达点点头。“游牧民族教赞恩的父母用一点点魔法就能控制它们。

旁白 neutral

That way they could ride them instead of fighting the sand."

这样他们就能骑着它们，而不是在沙地中艰难跋涉了。”

旁白 neutral

" Of course." Wyssa cleared her throat

“当然。”威萨清了清嗓子。

旁白 neutral

" I was just going to suggest summoning a few of those beasts."

“我正想建议召唤几只那种野兽呢。”

旁白 neutral

Zann traded a look with his friends

赞恩与朋友们交换了一个眼神。

旁白 neutral

Had Wyssa really planned to suggest that?

威萨真打算这么建议吗？

旁白 neutral

He decided it didn't matter

他决定这无关紧要。

旁白 neutral

Wyssa was already pulling some dried leaves and twigs out of her pockets

威萨已经从口袋里掏出了几片干叶子和细枝。

旁白 neutral

Whether it was her idea or not, she seemed to know how to summon the beasts

不管这是不是她的主意，她看起来确实知道如何召唤这些野兽。

旁白 neutral

" Hold out your hands," Wyssa ordered the kids

“把手伸出来，”威萨命令孩子们。

旁白 neutral

" Create friction while I sprinkle this on you. But be careful."

“在我把这个撒到你们身上时，你们要制造摩擦。不过要小心。”

旁白 neutral

Zann and his friends did as she said

赞恩和他的朋友们照她说的做了。

旁白 neutral

Soon magic energy was sparking around them

很快，周围就迸发出了魔法能量的火花。

旁白 neutral

Wyssa muttered under her breath and closed her eyes, waving her hands to direct the energy

威萨闭上眼睛小声嘀咕着，挥舞双手引导这股能量。

旁白 neutral

" Whoa." Perda blinked as a tiny spark exploded in front of her eyes." This is crazy."

“哇噢。”佩达眨了眨眼，看着一小朵火花在她眼前炸开。“这太神奇了。”

旁白 neutral

Gliss nodded." It reminds me of the unstable energy near the Cave of the Unknown."

格利斯点点头。“这让我想起了无名洞穴附近那种不稳定的能量。”

旁白 neutral

Zann glanced at Wyssa, but she was ignoring them as she continued to murmur and wave her hands

赞恩瞥了威萨一眼，但她根本没理他们，继续嘀咕着挥舞双手。

旁白 neutral

" Maybe there's a powerful source of magic near here too," he said to his friends

“也许这附近也有一处强大的魔法源，”他对朋友们说。

旁白 neutral

Gliss gasped." Like the Source?"

格利斯倒吸一口气。“就像‘源头’那样吗？”

旁白 neutral

Zann nodded." What if that's why Morb came here? Maybe he's trying to find it."

赞恩点点头。“会不会莫布就是因为这个才来这里的？也许他正试图找到它。”

旁白 neutral

" And control it," Perda added grimly

“还要控制它。”佩达阴沉地补充道。

旁白 neutral

" And I thought it was scary when it was only Laddno who wanted to find the Source!"

“光是拉德诺想找到源头就已经够吓人了！”

旁白 neutral

" The Source might not even exist," Gliss said

“源头或许根本不存在。”格利斯说。

旁白 neutral

Before Zann could respond, he heard thundering hooves in the distance

赞恩还没来得及回答，就听到远处传来雷鸣般的蹄声。

旁白 neutral

Half a dozen strange creatures appeared on the horizon

地平线上出现了六只奇怪的生物。

旁白 neutral

They stopped some distance away and peered at the humans with large, dark eyes

它们在不远处停下，用又大又黑的眼睛凝视着人类。

旁白 neutral

" Are those hoof beasts?" Gliss whispered

“那些是蹄兽吗？”格利斯小声问。

旁白 neutral

Darb nodded." They look just like the pictures in the book I read."

达布点点头。“它们跟我读过的书里的图片一模一样。”

旁白 neutral

Perda took a step forward, shading her eyes for a better look

佩达向前迈了一步，手搭凉棚想看得更清楚些。

旁白 neutral

" They look sort of like desert donkeys, but bigger," she said

“它们有点像沙漠驴，但个头更大。”她说。

旁白 neutral

" Prettier too," Gliss put in." Look at their long manes and tails!"

“也更漂亮。”格利斯插嘴道。“看它们长长的鬃毛和尾巴！”

旁白 neutral

Zann had to agree. The beasts had multicolored hair in shades of gold, brown, and yellow

赞恩不得不同意。这些野兽的毛发是金色、棕色和黄色的多色混合。

旁白 neutral

" Their hair helps them blend into the desert," Darb said

“它们的毛发有助于它们融入沙漠。”达布说。

旁白 neutral

" And those wide hooves help them get traction in the shifting sand."

“它们那宽大的蹄子能让它们在流沙上保持抓地力。”

旁白 neutral

Wyssa frowned." Why aren't they coming closer?" she muttered

威萨皱起眉头。“它们怎么不走近些？”她喃喃道。

旁白 neutral

" I know I did the right spell."

“我确定我念的是正确的咒语。”

旁白 neutral

" Maybe Darb could try to tame them," Zann suggested

“也许达布可以试着驯服它们。”赞恩提议。

旁白 neutral

" He's great with animals."

“他特别擅长和动物打交道。”

旁白 neutral

Darb didn't respond for a second

达布一时没有回答。

旁白 neutral

He was still watching the hoof beasts carefully

他还在仔细观察着蹄兽。

旁白 neutral

" They look nervous," he said." Actually they look scared."

“它们看起来很紧张，”他说，“其实它们看起来很害怕。”

旁白 neutral

" Of us?" Perda wondered." Why?"

“害怕我们？”佩达疑惑地说，“为什么？”

旁白 neutral

Before anyone could respond, one of the hoof beasts let out a sharp whistle

还没等有人回答，其中一头蹄兽发出了一声尖锐的哨音。

旁白 neutral

The entire herd wheeled around and galloped off across the sand

整个兽群掉转过头，越过沙地飞驰而去。

旁白 neutral

" Stop!" Wyssa cried

“停下！”威萨喊道。

旁白 neutral

She flung magic energy after the animals." Get back here!"

她把魔法能量朝那些动物扔去。“给我回来！”

旁白 neutral

But the beasts were already gone

但那些野兽已经跑远了。

旁白 neutral

" I wonder what scared them," Gliss said

“我想知道是什么吓到它们了，”格丽斯说。

旁白 neutral

" Maybe they...," Zann stopped as the sand rumbled beneath his feet

“也许它们……”赞恩停下了，脚下的沙地开始隆隆作响。

旁白 neutral

" What was that?"

“那是什么？”

旁白 neutral

Perda took a step back." The ground is moving!"

佩达后退了一步。“地在动！”

旁白 neutral

Zann glanced around

赞恩环顾四周。

旁白 neutral

The sand was shifting everywhere he looked

他所看到之处，沙子都在移动。

旁白 neutral

A few dozen strides ahead, a sinkhole appeared to be forming

前方几十步远的地方，似乎正在形成一个天坑。

旁白 neutral

Suddenly sand shot upward as an enormous, lumpy head burst out of the ground!

突然，沙子向上喷射，一个巨大的、疙疙瘩瘩的头从地里猛地钻了出来！

旁白 neutral

It looked almost like a dragon — but much bigger

它看起来几乎像一条龙——但个头要大得多。

旁白 neutral

Its snake-like neck was the same color as the sand, and its mouth held two rows of jagged teeth

它蛇一般的脖子和沙子是同样的颜色，嘴里长着两排参差不齐的牙齿。

旁白 neutral

" Oh, no!" Perda gasped." It's a sand beast!"

"哦，不！"佩达倒吸一口气，"是沙兽！"

旁白 neutral

" What's a sand beast?" Gliss cried

"什么是沙兽？"格丽斯喊道。

旁白 neutral

" I'll tell you later." Perda spun around

"我回头再告诉你。"佩达转过身来。

旁白 neutral

" We have to get out of here!"

"我们得离开这儿！"

旁白 neutral

She took off as fast as she could in the shifting sand

她在流动的沙地上拼命跑了起来。

旁白 neutral

Zann raced after her and almost crashed into her when she skidded to a stop

赞恩紧追其后，当她脚下一滑猛地停住时，他差点撞到她身上。

旁白 neutral

The sand beast's forked tail had just emerged from the sand ahead of them!

沙兽分叉的尾巴刚刚从他们前方的沙子里钻了出来！

旁白 neutral

They spun around

他们猛地转过身。

旁白 neutral

But several legs with claws were popping into view all around them

但好几条带爪子的腿从他们四周突然冒了出来。

旁白 neutral

" How many arms and legs does this thing have?" Gliss cried

"这玩意儿到底有多少条胳膊腿啊？"格丽斯喊道。

旁白 neutral

" Enough," Darb said grimly." We're surrounded!"

"足够多了，"达布阴沉地说，"我们被包围了！"

旁白 neutral

The beast's giant head dived at Zann, and he ducked

那巨兽的头朝赞恩猛冲下来，他赶紧低头闪避。

旁白 neutral

Saliva sizzled as it hit the hot sand

唾液落在滚烫的沙子上，发出嘶嘶的声响。

旁白 neutral

" Gliss, look out!" Darb yelled

"格丽斯，小心！"达布大叫。

旁白 neutral

Zann spun around and saw one of the creature's claws moving toward Gliss

赞恩转过身，看见那怪物的一只爪子正向格丽斯伸去。

旁白 neutral

He snapped his fingers and sent a bolt of energy toward it

他打了个响指，朝那爪子射出一道能量箭。

旁白 neutral

But instead of zipping toward the clawed arm, Zann's magic energy burst into a fireball!

但赞恩的魔法能量没有飞速射向那只带爪的手臂，反而爆发成了一个火球！

旁白 neutral

That distracted the sand beast just long enough for Gliss to dart away from its claws

这分散了沙兽的注意力，时间刚好够格丽斯从它的爪子下闪开。

旁白 neutral

Darb grabbed her and pulled her closer to the others

达布抓住她，把她拉近其他人身边。

旁白 neutral

The group huddled together as the beast's multiple limbs all moved toward them

孩子们紧紧挤作一团，而那只巨兽的多条肢体一齐向他们逼近。

旁白 neutral

" We have to get out of here!" Zann cried." Join hands!"

"我们得离开这儿！"赞恩喊道，"把手拉起来！"

旁白 neutral

" Don't try to zap!" Wyssa shouted." Your magic will — "

"别试瞬移！"威萨喊道，"你的魔法会——"

旁白 neutral

Zann didn't wait for her to finish

赞恩没等她说完。

旁白 neutral

As soon as he and his friends were touching, he screamed," Zap!"

他和朋友们的手刚碰到一起，就尖声喊道："瞬移！"