194 山村

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" Finally!" Perda thought as she, Zann, and Zing landed from

a zap and saw signs of civilization.

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" This must be the village Vilkor mentioned yesterday," Zann said

“这肯定就是维科尔昨天提到的那个村子。”赞说。

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It was the day after they'd found Mellis

那是他们找到梅莉丝之后的第二天。

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They'd spent the morning following Vilkor's group farther

up into the mountains.

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The village consisted of about a dozen rough huts built

on a steep, craggy ridge.

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The only flat area contained a rough but strong-looking

curved stone wall.

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" I bet that's where the villagers hide from rock trompers

and other scary stuff," Perda said.

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" This whole place is kind of scary, isn't it?" Zann said

“这整个地方都有点吓人，对吧？”赞说。

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Tufts of weedy grass and slimy-looking moss grew here

and there on the rocky ground.

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The forest was dark and thick. Vines seemed to choke the twisted trees

森林幽暗茂密。藤蔓似乎缠绕得那些扭曲的树木都透不过气来。

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" Who would want to live here?" Zann asked

“谁会想住在这里？”赞问道。

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" Those people, I guess."

“那些人吧，我想。”

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Perda watched as a crowd of people emerged from

their huts to face Vilkor and his group.

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" Who are you?" a man called, sounding suspicious

“你们是谁？”一个男人喊道，听起来充满怀疑。

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" What are you doing here? We don't like outsiders."

“你们在这里做什么？我们不喜欢外来者。”

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" You'll like me, I promise." Vilkor sounded confident

“你们会喜欢我的，我保证。”维尔科听起来很自信。

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" I am your supreme ruler, and I've come to bless you

with the wonders of my magic powers."

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" Supreme ruler?" a woman said with a laugh

“最高统治者？”一个女人笑着说。

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" Step back, or you'll meet the magic of our sharp spears!"

“退后，否则你们会领教我们锋利长矛的厉害！”

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Several other villagers murmured in agreement

and lifted their crude weapons.

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Vilkor chuckled." I was hoping we could do this the easy way

维尔科轻笑一声。“我本希望我们能轻松解决这事。

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Oh well. Perhaps this will convince you."

算了。也许这个能让你们信服。”

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He rubbed his hands together and then waved

them dramatically over his head.

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" Behold my awesome power!"

“见识我强大的力量吧！”

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Bursts of colorful light erupted all over the area

色彩缤纷的光束在四周猛然迸发。

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The villagers gasped in fear. Some ran behind the stone wall to hide

村民们吓得倒吸一口凉气。有些人跑到石墙后面躲藏。

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Perda noticed that Mellis was snapping her fingers

佩达注意到梅利斯在弹响指。

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Each time she did, a weapon flew out of a villager's hands

and landed behind Vilkor's group.

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" Mellis is doing more practical magic, as usual," she whispered to Zann

“梅利斯和往常一样，在施更实用的魔法，”她对赞低语道。

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" Vilkor likes flashy spells, but he always makes Mellis do the harder work."

“维尔科喜欢花哨的咒语，但总让梅利斯干更难的活儿。”

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She remembered with disgust how Vilkor had expected his niece

to dig the well all by herself.

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The villagers shouted in alarm." Who are you, and what

do you want?" a man cried.

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" I told you. I am the ruler of all the land." Vilkor rubbed

his hands together.

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He pointed at one of the huts, causing it to explode

他指向一间小屋，小屋瞬间炸开。

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" My house!" a villager cried

“我的房子！”一个村民喊道。

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" What's he doing?" Perda cried." He won't win them over

by destroying their homes!"

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Mellis seemed to be thinking the same thing

梅利斯似乎也在想同样的事。

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She grabbed her uncle's arm and shook her head

她抓住叔叔的胳膊，摇了摇头。

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Then she snapped her fingers and magically repaired the hut

然后她打了个响指，用魔法修好了小屋。

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The villagers gasped and then cheered

村民们倒吸一口气，接着欢呼起来。

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But Mellis wasn't finished

但梅利斯还没完。

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She pointed at the stone wall

她指向了石墙。

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Seconds later it was taller and stronger than before, with a sturdy

roof and a solid wooden door.

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The villagers gasped again

村民们再次倒吸一口凉气。

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" The rock trompers will never reach us now!" a woman exclaimed

"岩踏兽再也靠近不了我们了！"一位妇女喊道。

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" Thank you, strangers!"

"谢谢你们，陌生人！"

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" You're welcome," Vilkor said, stepping in front of Mellis

"不用谢。"维尔科说着，迈步挡在了梅利斯身前。

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" Now I'll tell you more about my amazing powers."

"现在，让我再给你们讲讲我那些了不起的本领。"

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He levitated onto the roof, to more gasps from the crowd

他悬浮到了屋顶，人群中又发出一阵惊叹。

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Then he looked around

然后他环顾四周。

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" Hmm, nice view from up here," he said

“嗯，从这儿看出去景色真不错。”他说。

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" Very secure, too, with dense forest all around

“而且非常安全，周围全是茂密的森林。

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This might be a good place to build a fortress for myself." He pointed to Mellis

这儿也许是个给我自己建座堡垒的好地方。”他指向梅利斯。

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" Join me, dear niece, while I tell these villagers how lucky they are

that I've mastered the wonders of magic."

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Mellis floated up to stand beside her uncle

梅利斯飘起来，站到叔叔身旁。

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" Good," Zann whispered

“很好，”赞轻声说。

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" It will be easier for her to put our plan into action from up there

“她在上面会更容易实施我们的计划。

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Especially since Vilkor thinks she's still muted."

尤其是维尔科还以为她发不出声。”

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Perda nodded

佩达点了点头。

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She'd woken up that morning with an idea for a plan

那天早上醒来时，她想出了一个计划，

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and she and Zann had sneaked into camp to tell Mellis about it

before everyone else woke up.

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Once the villagers were gathered, Mellis was supposed to speak up

and tell them the truth about friction.

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" Do you think it will work?" Zann asked as Vilkor began to speak

bombastically about his amazing powers.

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" Some Terricans seem to have trouble believing they can do magic themselves."

“有些特里卡人似乎很难相信自己也能施展魔法。”

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" That's true," Perda said

“没错，”佩达说。

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" But hearing those servants talking in the woods last night makes me

think people are starting to believe it.

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Let's disguise ourselves and hide in the crowd

我们伪装一下，混进人群里吧。

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That way we can start showing people what to do once they hear

what Mellis has to say."

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" Good idea." Zann rubbed his hands together and used a Cloaking

spell to make himself look more like the villagers.

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Perda did the same. They also used a Cloaking spell to make

Zing resemble a large bird.

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Meanwhile Vilkor was still speaking

与此同时，维尔科还在讲话。

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" And with the mighty powers I now possess, I shall turn Terrica

into a peaceful and prosperous land.

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If you follow me, I'll shower you with magical wonders

beyond your wildest dreams."

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" Are you the only one who can perform these magical

wonders?" a man called out.

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" Yes!" Vilkor cried." Er, that is, my niece also possesses some ability

“是的！”维尔科大声说。“呃，也就是说，我的侄女也有一些能力，

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along with a couple of other assistants back in the village."

还有村子里的另外几个助手。”

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" Is he talking about Zira and Krub?" Zann whispered

“他是在说齐拉和克鲁布吗？”赞低声问。

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" I wonder how they'd like being called his assistants!"

“真想知道他们被叫做助手会作何感想！”

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" Shh," Perda said." I think Mellis is about to speak."

“嘘，”佩达说。“我觉得梅利斯要说话了。”

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She held her breath, watching Mellis square her shoulders

and step forward. Would their plan work?

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Vilkor was still talking

维尔科却还在说着。

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" However, I've decided that a land made fertile and affluent

through magic needs a better name than Terrica,

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so I'm officially renaming it

所以我现在正式给它改名。

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From here on, you may refer to me as the supreme

ruler of the great land now known as . . ."

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He waved his hands, sending up puffs of smoke and glitter." Magica!"

他挥舞双手，喷出一团团烟雾和闪光。“马吉卡！”