188 嗅出真相

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" Uh-oh," Perda thought." We're in Skellia!"

“哎呀，”佩达心想，“我们到斯凯利亚了！”

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" That's definitely a gulper," she said

“那绝对是条吞食者，”她说。

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" And it's coming to eat the wormhole! Back into the vortex — hurry!"

“而且它要来吃虫洞了！快回漩涡里去——快！”

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She, Zann, Yarb, and Zing leaped for the wormhole

她、赞恩、亚布和辛格一起跳向虫洞。

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Perda was relieved when they were back in the vortex

even though she felt more exhausted than ever.

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" Something strange is happening here," she said as they tumbled along

“这里有些奇怪的事情在发生，”他们在翻滚前行时，她说道。

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" What do you mean?" Zann asked

“你这话是什么意思？”赞恩问。

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" I'm not sure yet," Perda said

“我还不确定，”佩达说。

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" But it seems strange that we came out in two worlds we've visited

before—Drac and Skellia—but they looked very different this time.

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The mountains were much taller than those we've seen

before in Drac, for instance."

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" That's not so strange," Zann said

“这也没什么奇怪的，”赞恩说。

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" We probably came out in a different part of Drac

where there are taller mountains."

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" Maybe," Perda said slowly." But how do you

explain what just happened?

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Gulpers are from Skellia, but there was land

in that world we just left.

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Skellia is completely covered in water

斯凯利亚完全被水覆盖着。

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That's why Wyssa had to rescue Ello's people."

正因如此，薇萨才要去救埃罗的族人。”

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" Maybe there are gulpers in other worlds

besides Skellia," Zann said.

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Perda thought about that." That's possible," she said

佩达想了想。“那倒也有可能，”她说。

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" A lot of species are introduced from one world to another

“很多物种都是从一个世界被带到另一个世界的。

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Morb brought several horrible creatures to Magica, remember?

莫布就带了好几种可怕的生物来魔奇卡，记得吗？

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And I read that there were no dragons in Magica originally

而且我在书上看到，马基卡原本是没有龙的。

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They were brought there during the Old Times, probably from

Drac or one of the other worlds where they're native."

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" I didn't know that." Zann looked impressed

“我还不知道这个呢。”赞恩一脸佩服。

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" You really have been learning a lot about Magica's history!"

“你还真是了解了不少马基卡的历史啊！”

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" What's Magica?" Yarb asked

“马基卡是什么？”亚伯问道。

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" It's our home world," Zann said

“那是我们的家园世界。”赞恩说。

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" It's filled with magic energy. That's why we already

know how to use magic."

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Perda was still trying to figure out why the vortex seemed different

佩达仍在努力弄清漩涡为何看起来不对劲。

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" Nobody really knows exactly how the vortex works," she said

“没人真正清楚漩涡究竟是如何运作的。”她说。

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" Not even Wyssa, or the queen of Rood, or your parents

“就连薇萨、路德女王或是你父母也不知道。”

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Could we be stuck in a different part of it?"

我们会不会困在它的另一个部分了？

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" What do you mean?" Zann asked." Wait! Hold on

there's another wormhole."

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He grabbed the edge. But when they looked through

they saw a frozen tundra with no signs of life.

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Zann let go and they tumbled on

赞恩松开手，他们继续向前翻滚。

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" Maybe the vortex has branches that wander off in

different directions, like a river," Perda said.

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" Or maybe it's like the Wormwood tree, where every

branch seems to twist and turn unexpectedly.

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If a wormhole leads into a different branch from the one we've traveled

before, it would explain why we haven't found a familiar world yet.

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The place we thought was Drac could be another world with dragons

and obviously that couldn't have been Skellia we just visited."

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" Maybe your theory is right." Zann sounded worried

“也许你的理论是对的。”赞恩听起来很担心。

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" But whatever's going on with the vortex, we need to rest soon

“但不管漩涡是怎么回事，我们得尽快休息了。

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Let's try another wormhole."

我们试试另一个虫洞吧。

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He grabbed the next one they passed

他抓住了经过的下一个虫洞。

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Perda pulled herself out to look, and a strong, unpleasant

but also familiar smell struck her.

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" Ew!" Zann wrinkled his nose. But then he grinned

“呃！”赞恩皱起鼻子，但随后咧嘴笑了。

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" Hey, there's no way this could be anywhere else but good old Niffia!"

“嘿，这地方不可能是别处，只能是咱们的老尼菲亚！”

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Perda felt like laughing with relief

佩达如释重负，差点笑出声来。

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The people of Niffia had no noses, which was a good thing

since their world smelled absolutely awful.

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As she breathed in, the stench was overwhelming

她深吸一口气，恶臭扑面而来，让人窒息。

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" Why are we stopping here?" Yarb asked." It stinks!"

“我们干嘛停在这儿？”亚伯问道，“臭死了！”

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" Yes, it does," Perda told him

“没错，是很臭。”佩达对他说。

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" But we know this world. Its residents are kind and welcoming."

“但我们对这个世界很了解。这里的居民善良又热情。”

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She and Zann pulled themselves out through the wormhole

她和赞恩从虫洞里爬了出来。

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As soon as they unshackled, Yarb grabbed his nose

他们刚松手，亚伯就捂住了鼻子。

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" Yuck," he said." When can we leave?"

“恶心，”他说，“我们什么时候能走？”

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Perda looked around, expecting to see a delegation

of friendly Niffians coming to greet them.

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That was what had happened on their previous visits to Niffia

以前他们来尼菲亚时都是这样的。

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But there was no sign of anyone." Let's start walking," Zann suggested

但连个人影都没有。“我们开始走吧，”赞恩建议。

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" They might not have noticed we're here yet. Maybe we can find a town."

“他们可能还没发现我们来了。也许我们能找到个镇子。”

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They set off, ignoring Yarb's complaints

他们出发了，没理会亚伯的抱怨。

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But after walking for several minutes, they hadn't found

any signs of civilization.

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" Maybe your branch idea is right," Zann said

“也许你的分支理论是对的，”赞恩说。

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" But maybe this branch is letting us out in completely

different parts of the worlds than usual.

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We could be as far from the Niffian towns we know as the

Far Frontier is from Swamp Bottom back in Magica."

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" Maybe." Perda was feeling uneasy again

“也许吧。”佩达又感到不安起来。

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On previous visits Niffia had been dotted with pretty villages

and well-tended gardens.

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All she could see now were wild forests and meadows

现在她眼前只有荒林与草地。

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Zing, who was flying overhead, let out a chirp

小喳在头顶飞着，啾地叫了一声。

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" Look!" Zann pointed." Zing just spotted smoke."

“快看！”赞恩指着说，“小喳发现了炊烟。”

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Perda laughed with relief." That must be a town

or at least a farm or something."

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They hurried toward the thin plume of smoke

他们匆忙朝着那缕细烟赶去。

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It was coming from a clearing in the forest

烟是从林中一片空地里冒出来的。

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A few rough huts were huddled around a firepit

几间粗陋的棚屋挤在一个火坑周围。

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Several noseless people looked up in surprise

when the visitors stepped into view.

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They were dressed in drab rags tied together

with crude rope.

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" Hello," Perda said. This didn't look anything like

the civilized villages she'd visited before.

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But at least these people looked similar to the Niffians she'd met

不过这些人至少长得像她见过的尼菲亚人。

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" We're from Magica. We're trying to find our way

back home. Can you help us?"

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The Niffians stared at her. Some of them smiled

while others looked confused.

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One woman scratched her head." Magica? Is that

on the far side of the forest?"

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Perda traded a worried look with Zann

佩达和赞恩对视了一眼，都面露担心。

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" Could you tell us how to reach a town?" Zann asked the Niffians

“能告诉我们怎么去镇子吗？”赞恩问那些尼菲亚人。

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" We need to speak with your leaders."

“我们需要和你们的首领谈谈。”

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" I am the leader." Another woman stepped forward

“我就是首领。”另一个女人走上前来。

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She smiled proudly as she glanced around at the huts

她环顾一圈棚屋，骄傲地笑了。

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" And this is the largest settlement in all of Niffia!"

“而这就是整个尼菲亚最大的聚居地！”