054 午夜任务

旁白 neutral

Zann froze as Zing snorted and spurted out a puff of smoke

Zann 僵住了，只见 Zing 打了个响鼻，喷出一团烟雾。

旁白 neutral

But the little dragon was only turning over in his sleep

但小龙只是在睡梦中翻了个身。

旁白 neutral

Soon he was snoring in harmony with Darb once again

很快，他又和 Darb 一起此起彼伏地打着呼噜。

旁白 neutral

Rubbing his fingers, Zann touched the note he'd just written

Zann 捻了捻手指，摸到了他刚写好的那张字条。

旁白 neutral

It disappeared, though he could still feel the paper under his fingers

字条已经隐形了，但他指尖仍能感觉到纸张的存在。

旁白 neutral

He hoped he'd performed the Vanishing spell correctly

他希望自己的消失咒没有施错。

旁白 neutral

If he had, the note would reappear in exactly three hours

如果没错，字条将在整整三小时后重新出现。

旁白 neutral

He glanced at Darb's sleeping form, feeling guilty

他瞥了一眼熟睡的 Darb，心里感到一阵内疚。

旁白 neutral

The note explained where Zann was going and why — just in case he never made it back

字条上解释了 Zann 要去哪里、去做什么——万一他回不来，也能有个交代。

旁白 neutral

Zann tiptoed out of the room. Then he zapped himself to the palace

Zann 踮着脚尖走出房间，然后施了个瞬移咒，把自己传送到了宫殿。

旁白 neutral

When he saw the hulking guard standing outside the main entrance, he realized he hadn't thought his plan through very well

看到正门外那个高大魁梧的守卫时，他才意识到自己把计划想得太简单了。

旁白 neutral

Powerful Shield spells stopped people from zapping into the palace uninvited

强大的护盾咒语能阻止人未经邀请就传送进宫殿。

旁白 neutral

How was he going to get inside?

他要怎么进去呢？

旁白 neutral

Just then the guard looked up and spotted him

就在这时，守卫抬起头看到了他。

旁白 neutral

" Zann!" he exclaimed." Is that really you? What an honor!"

“赞！”他喊道，“真的是你吗？太荣幸了！”

旁白 neutral

" Oh," Zann said in surprise." Um, thanks."

“哦，”赞惊讶地说，“呃，谢谢。”

旁白 neutral

" Are the king and queen expecting you, or do you need me to wake them?" the guard asked

“国王和王后在等你吗，还是需要我去叫醒他们？”守卫问道。

旁白 neutral

" Shall I show you to the throne room?"

“要我带你去王座厅吗？”

旁白 neutral

Zann was amazed. At last his new celebrity status was coming in handy!

赞很惊讶。他的新名人身份终于派上用场了！

旁白 neutral

" Thanks, but I remember the way," he told the guard, trying to sound casual

“谢谢，但我记得路，”他对守卫说，尽量让自己的语气显得随意。

旁白 neutral

" And you don't need to wake anybody."

“而且你不需要叫醒任何人。”

旁白 neutral

Zann hurried inside. Only a few flickering candles lit the palace halls, but Zann had no trouble finding his way to the main courtyard

赞急忙走了进去。只有几支闪烁的蜡烛照亮宫殿的走廊，但赞毫不费力就找到了通往主庭院的路。

旁白 neutral

He shuddered as he glanced at the spot where Morb's monstrous magic-sucking machine had stood

他瞥了一眼莫尔布那台可怕的吸魔机器曾经矗立的地方，不禁打了个寒战。

旁白 neutral

Then he headed toward a balcony jutting from the second floor

然后他朝着二楼突出的一个阳台走去。

旁白 neutral

He levitated to it and stepped into the hallway beyond

他飘浮上去，走进了后面的走廊。

旁白 neutral

Spotting the door he wanted, he opened it and stepped inside

他找到了想要的那扇门，打开门走了进去。

旁白 neutral

" Oops," he whispered as he looked around

“哎呀，”他环顾四周，轻声说道。

旁白 neutral

He was in a bedroom he'd never seen before

他发现自己在一间从未见过的卧室里。

旁白 neutral

A stout older man was snoring. Luckily the man didn't wake up as Zann quickly backed out of the room

一个矮胖的老人在打鼾。幸运的是，赞迅速退出房间时，那人没有醒来。

旁白 neutral

Zann glanced up and down the hall

赞上下打量着走廊。

旁白 neutral

Okay, if that wasn't the right door, then surely it was the next one down..

好吧，如果那扇门不对，那下一扇肯定就是了……

旁白 neutral

But the second door he opened revealed only a linen closet. And the third opened onto a deserted dining room

可他打开的第二扇门后只是个床单杂物柜。而第三扇门则通向一个空无一人的餐厅。

旁白 neutral

Zann stood in the hallway, trying to figure out why he couldn't find the room he wanted

赞站在走廊里，想弄清楚为什么找不到他想去的那个房间。

旁白 neutral

" This is stupid," he muttered. Rubbing his hands together, he took a moment to focus his mind." Zap," he whispered

“真是蠢透了，”他咕哝道。他搓了搓双手，花了一会儿集中精神。“瞬，”他低声说。

旁白 neutral

He landed in a storage room. He smiled, sure he'd finally found the right room

他落到了一间储藏室里。他微微一笑，确信自己终于找对了房间。

旁白 neutral

But Zann's smile faded as he realized the room's window overlooked the aviary in the palace menagerie

但赞的笑容渐渐消失了，他意识到这个房间的窗户正对着王宫珍禽园里的大鸟笼。

旁白 neutral

This wasn't the right storage room. It wasn't even in the same part of the palace

这不是他要找的那间储藏室。甚至不在王宫的同一片区域。

旁白 neutral

" Drat," he muttered. Zann carefully pictured the right storage room in his mind." Zap!"

“该死，”他咕哝道。赞在脑中仔细勾勒出那间正确储藏室的样子。“瞬！”

旁白 neutral

This time he landed in the palace library

这次他落到了王宫图书馆里。

旁白 neutral

He zapped again and ended up in the banquet hall

他又瞬移了一次，结果掉进了宴会厅。

旁白 neutral

" Zann?" a familiar voice said." What are you doing here?"

“赞？”一个熟悉的声音说，“你在这儿做什么？”

旁白 neutral

Zann spun around. Yog sat at the table in his pajamas, feasting on wiggle root pie

赞猛地转身。看见约格穿着睡衣坐在桌边，正大快朵颐地吃着蠕根派。

旁白 neutral

" Yog!" Zann exclaimed." Um, hi. I just came to, uh..." He thought fast

“约格！”赞惊叫道。“呃，嗨。我只是来，嗯……”他飞速思考着。

旁白 neutral

" To get something Boz left here earlier

“来拿波兹之前落在这里的东西。

旁白 neutral

But Boz said it was near the wormhole, and I can't seem to find the right room."

但波兹说在虫洞附近，而我好像找不到正确的房间。”

旁白 neutral

Yog looked surprised." Didn't Boz warn you that you wouldn't be able to get to it?

约格看起来很惊讶。“波兹没警告过你，你是到不了那儿的吗？

旁白 neutral

The Red Council didn't like having a wormhole inside the palace

红色议会不喜欢宫殿里有个虫洞。

旁白 neutral

Anyone or anything could wander through from another world."

任何人或任何东西都可能从另一个世界游荡过来。”

旁白 neutral

Zann was confused." Then why didn't they do something about it sooner?" he asked

赞很困惑。“那他们为什么不早点处理这件事呢？”他问道。

旁白 neutral

" You know how wormholes work," said Yog

“你知道虫洞的原理呀，”约格说。

旁白 neutral

" They can appear or disappear at random

"虫洞会随机出现或消失。

旁白 neutral

We didn't know that one was in the palace until Morb used it."

在莫布打开它之前，我们压根不知道王宫里有一个。"

旁白 neutral

" Are the king and queen afraid that Morb might try to come back?" Zann asked

"国王和王后是不是担心莫布会卷土重来？"赞问道。

旁白 neutral

" I doubt it," Yog said." Once you destroyed Morb's magic-sucking machine, he went back to being a Void, remember?

"我看未必，"约格说，"你摧毁了莫布的吸魔机，他就又变回了一个虚空，记得吧？

旁白 neutral

It takes powerful magic to navigate the vortex connecting the wormholes. Morb will probably be lost forever."

穿越连接虫洞的漩涡需要强大的魔法。莫布大概会永远迷失在里面了。"

旁白 neutral

Zann thought anxiously of his parents. Were they still lost in the vortex, just like Morb?

赞忧心忡忡地想起了自己的父母。他们是不是也和莫布一样，还在漩涡里迷失？

旁白 neutral

Thinking of them brought Zann's mind back to his quest

想到父母，赞的思绪又回到了自己的任务上。

旁白 neutral

" So what happened?" he asked." Did the Red Council close up the wormhole, or blow it up or something?"

"那后来呢？"他问道，"红色议会对虫洞做了什么？关掉了，还是炸毁了之类的？"

旁白 neutral

Yog shook his head." Even the strongest magic can't destroy a wormhole," he explained

约格摇了摇头。"就算是最强大的魔法，也摧毁不了虫洞。"他解释道。

旁白 neutral

" All the Magic Masters joined together to block it off with a special Repel spell paired with an extra-strong Containment spell."

"所有的魔法大师合力，用一个特别的驱退咒加一道超强的封禁咒，把它给堵住了。"

旁白 neutral

" So that's what Boz and Teplo were doing here at the palace all day," Zann said

"所以波兹和泰普罗在王宫里忙活了一整天，就是在做这个。"赞说道。

旁白 neutral

" Right," Yog said, taking another bite of his pie

"没错。"约格说着，又咬了一口馅饼。

旁白 neutral

" Okay. I should get home," Zann said." See you later."

"好吧，我得回家了。"赞说，"回头见。"

旁白 neutral

He zapped himself out of the palace and stood in the moonlit courtyard outside, feeling frustrated. Now what?

他施展魔法闪出了宫殿，站在外面月色笼罩的庭院里，心里十分沮丧。接下来怎么办？

旁白 neutral

With the palace wormhole blocked, there was only one other option

王宫的虫洞被封住了，那就只剩下一个选择了。

旁白 neutral

Before he had time to get nervous, Zann muttered," Zap!"

还没来得及紧张，赞就低声念了句："闪！"

旁白 neutral

Wormwood was a scary place at night

夜晚的苦艾林是个阴森可怖的地方。

旁白 neutral

Moonlight shone through the branches of the gnarled old tree, casting spooky shadows over the ramshackle huts

月光透过那棵盘根错节的老树的枝丫，在摇摇欲坠的棚屋上投下诡异的影子。

旁白 neutral

Strange smells and stranger sounds drifted on the night breeze

夜风送来了古怪的气味，还有更古怪的声响。

旁白 neutral

Doing his best to ignore the creepy atmosphere, Zann stepped toward the tree's massive trunk

赞尽力不去理会这令人发毛的氛围，朝那棵大树粗壮的树干走去。

旁白 neutral

The wormhole opened, and Zann stared into its spinning, pulsating depths, feeling terrified and dizzy. Could he do this?

虫洞打开了，赞凝视着里面旋转跳动的无底深渊，感到既害怕又晕眩。他真能做到吗？

旁白 neutral

Zann thought of his parents and knew he had to try

赞想起了父母，知道自己必须试一试。

旁白 neutral

Holding his breath, he stuck one leg into the wormhole

他屏住呼吸，把自己的一条腿伸进了虫洞。

旁白 neutral

A second later he felt the vortex's powerful energy pulling him in

下一刻，他就感觉到漩涡的强大能量把他往里吸扯。