067 斯凯利亚

旁白 neutral

" Look out!" Zann yelled. One of the giant jellyfish was moving straight toward Perda, its huge mouth gaping open

“小心！”赞喊道。一只巨大的水母正径直朝珀达游去，它张着血盆大口。

旁白 neutral

Rubbing his wet fingers together, Zann tried to send a Blast spell at the monster

赞搓着湿漉漉的手指，试图对那怪物发射一个冲击咒。

旁白 neutral

But he could barely manage a small sizzle of energy

但他只能勉强发出一小股滋滋作响的能量。

旁白 neutral

Still, he distracted the creature long enough for Perda to swim away from it

不过，这足以分散那生物的注意力，让珀达游开躲过一劫。

旁白 neutral

Zing dive-bombed the creatures, trying to blast them with his fiery breath

青俯冲向那些生物，试图用炽热的火焰吐息攻击它们。

旁白 neutral

But he was too wet. Nothing but a small puff of steam came out

但它浑身太湿了，只喷出了一小团蒸汽。

旁白 neutral

" Sing, Zing!" Darb yelled

“唱歌，青！”达布喊道。

旁白 neutral

Zing started whistling his hypnotic tune. Zann didn't know if it would work

青开始吹起它那有催眠效果的口哨曲。赞不知道这招是否管用。

旁白 neutral

He'd already seen that at least some otherworldly creatures weren't affected by it

他之前已经见过，至少有些异界生物不受它的影响。

旁白 neutral

These creatures didn't seem to be hypnotized by Zing's song either

这些生物看起来也没被青的歌声催眠。

旁白 neutral

But at least they did appear curious

但至少它们确实显得很好奇。

旁白 neutral

They turned and swam after Zing, peering up at him with huge, watery eyes

它们转过身，追着青游去，用那水汪汪的大眼睛仰望着他。

旁白 neutral

" Hey!" a voice shouted from the other direction." Heads up!"

“嘿！” 另一个方向传来一声大喊。“当心！”

旁白 neutral

Zann turned and saw a long sailboat shooting toward them

赞转过身，看见一艘长长的帆船正朝他们疾驰而来。

旁白 neutral

Seconds later the boat arrived, and hands reached out to drag the kids aboard

几秒钟后船就到了，好几只手伸出来把孩子们拽上了船。

旁白 neutral

" Hurry!" a man shouted in a gruff, urgent voice." The gulpers are turning back."

“快！” 一个男人用粗哑而急切的声音喊道。“那些大嘴怪又折回来了。”

旁白 neutral

Stiff winds lifted the sails and carried the boat swiftly over the waves, leaving the monsters far behind

强风鼓起船帆，带着小船飞速掠过浪尖，把那些怪物远远甩在了后面。

旁白 neutral

Moments later Zing caught up and landed beside Zann

过了一会儿，青追了上来，降落在赞的身边。

旁白 neutral

The dragon was out of breath, panting out little bursts of steam

这条龙累得上气不接下气，喘息间喷出一小股一小股的蒸汽。

旁白 neutral

" Gulpers are always hungry, but luckily they're slow," someone said

“大嘴怪总是很饿，不过幸好它们动作慢。” 一个人说道。

旁白 neutral

Zann turned and saw a boy around his own age smiling at him

赞转过身，看到一个和他年纪相仿的男孩正对他微笑。

旁白 neutral

" Hi," Zann said." Thanks for saving us. How did you know we needed help?"

“嗨，”赞说，“谢谢你救了我们。你怎么知道我们需要帮助？”

旁白 neutral

" We were fishing when we saw your strange bird flying around."

“我们正在钓鱼，突然看到你那只奇怪的鸟在飞。”

旁白 neutral

The boy pointed at Zing." We came to see what it was."

男孩指了指青。“我们就过来看看是什么。”

旁白 neutral

" His name is Zing," Zann said." He's a dragon. Oh, and I'm Zann."

“他叫青，”赞说，“他是一条龙。哦，我叫赞。”

旁白 neutral

" My name's Ello," the other boy said." Nice to meet you."

“我叫埃洛，”另一个男孩说，“很高兴认识你们。”

旁白 neutral

Zann introduced Ello to his friends

赞把埃洛介绍给了他的朋友们。

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" Where are you taking us?" Perda asked Ello

“你要带我们去哪儿？”珀达问埃洛。

旁白 neutral

" Our island." Ello pointed ahead." We'll be there soon."

“我们的岛。”埃洛向前方指去，“我们很快就到那里。”

旁白 neutral

Zann squinted into the driving rain. He could barely see a small lump on the horizon

赞眯起眼，望着瓢泼大雨。他勉强能看到地平线上有一个小小的突起。

旁白 neutral

" Is that the island? Where's the mainland?"

“那就是那座岛吗？大陆在哪儿？”

旁白 neutral

Ello shook his head sadly." There is no mainland anymore. Not since the seas started rising."

埃洛悲伤地摇了摇头。“再也没有大陆了。自从海水开始上涨，就再也没有了。”

旁白 neutral

" Ello!" someone shouted." We need your help with the mainsail."

“埃洛！”有人喊道，“我们需要你帮忙拉主帆。”

旁白 neutral

Ello hurried off to help the other fishermen

埃洛赶紧跑过去帮其他渔夫。

旁白 neutral

Zann and his friends tried to stay out of the way, and soon the boat landed on the rough, rocky shore of the tiny island

赞和他的朋友们尽量不碍事，很快船就靠上了小岛那崎岖多石的岸边。

旁白 neutral

About a dozen people were waiting to help drag the sailboat onto the beach

大约有十几个人正等着帮忙把帆船拖上沙滩。

旁白 neutral

Ello and the others quickly explained the situation, and Zann and his friends were surrounded by welcoming faces

埃洛和其他人迅速说明了情况，赞和他的朋友们便被一张张欢迎的面孔围住了。

旁白 neutral

" Come inside — you're soaked," a kind-faced woman said, gesturing toward a handful of humble wooden huts on stilts clustered nearby

“快进屋——你们浑身都湿透了，”一位面容和善的妇人说道，指了指近旁几间简陋的、用柱子撑起的木棚屋。

旁白 neutral

" Ello! Find our visitors some dry clothes and stoke the fire."

“埃洛！给客人们找些干衣服，再把火拨旺。”

旁白 neutral

" Yes, Mother," Ello replied, running ahead up the beach

“好的，母亲。”埃洛应着，沿着沙滩向前跑去。

旁白 neutral

Soon Zann and his friends were climbing a rough rope ladder into the largest hut

很快，赞和他的朋友们就顺着粗糙的绳梯爬进了最大的棚屋里。

旁白 neutral

It felt good to get out of the constant wind and rain, though it was still damp and chilly inside

虽然屋里依旧潮湿阴冷，但能躲开外面不停歇的风雨，感觉真好。

旁白 neutral

The fire sputtering in the center of the main room offered little light and even less heat

主屋中央噼啪作响的火堆只带来一点点光亮，热乎气儿更是少得可怜。

旁白 neutral

Most of the people from the beach crowded into the hut

刚才在海滩上的那伙人，大部分都挤进了棚屋。

旁白 neutral

Ello's mother poured warm drinks from a kettle resting in the embers and passed a mug to each visitor

埃洛的母亲从搁在余烬中的水壶里倒出热饮，给每位来客递上一杯。

旁白 neutral

" Please make yourselves at home," she said

“请别客气，就像在自己家一样。”她说。

旁白 neutral

" Thank you," Zann said. The drink tasted strange, but it made him feel warm

“谢谢。”赞说。这饮料味道怪怪的，但喝下去让他全身都暖融融的。

旁白 neutral

" And thank you for rescuing us," Perda added

“也谢谢你们救了我们。”佩尔达补充道。

旁白 neutral

" What were those creatures that attacked us?"

“攻击我们的那些是什么生物？”

旁白 neutral

" You mean the gulpers?" One of the men looked surprised

“你是说吞食兽？”其中一名男子面露惊讶。

旁白 neutral

" How can you not know them? They're the most dangerous beasts in all of Skellia."

"你们怎么会不知道它们？它们可是斯凯利亚最危险的野兽。"

旁白 neutral

" Skellia? Is that the name of this land?" asked Gliss

"斯凯利亚？这是这片土地的名字吗？"格里斯问道。

旁白 neutral

" We're not from here. We came through a wormhole."

"我们不是这里的人。我们是通过虫洞来的。"

旁白 neutral

Another man gasped." From the vortex?"

另一个人倒吸一口气。"从漩涡里来的？"

旁白 neutral

Immediately the Skellians started whispering among themselves

斯凯利亚人立刻开始交头接耳。

旁白 neutral

" Are you from a land of magic?" a woman asked, leaning forward

"你们来自一个有魔法的国度吗？"一个女人探身问道。

旁白 neutral

" Yes," Zann said." Isn't this a magical land too? Our magic seems to work here."

"是的，"赞说。"这里不也是一个魔法之地吗？我们的魔法好像在这里能用。"

旁白 neutral

Perda nodded, rubbed her hands together, and pointed at the fire." Increase!" she said

佩达点点头，搓了搓双手，然后指向火焰。"变大！"她说。

旁白 neutral

The fire grew bigger and hotter. The Skellians gasped with amazement

火焰变得更大更热了。斯凯利亚人惊讶地倒吸一口气。

旁白 neutral

Perda smiled." See?"

佩达笑了笑。"看到了吧？"

旁白 neutral

" That explains why the gulpers were after you," one of the fishermen said

"这就解释了为什么吞噬怪会追击你们。"一个渔夫说。

旁白 neutral

" What do you mean?" Zann was confused." What is this place?"

"什么意思？"赞困惑地问。"这到底是什么地方？"

旁白 neutral

Taking turns, their hosts finished explaining what Ello had started to tell them in the boat

主人们轮流把埃洛在船上没讲完的事解释清楚了。

旁白 neutral

Over the past few generations, most of the land in Skellia had been swallowed up by rough, rising seas

在过去几代人的时间里，斯凯利亚的大部分陆地都被汹涌上涨的海水吞没了。

旁白 neutral

The people of Skellia had weak and limited magic

斯凯利亚人的魔法既微弱又有限。

旁白 neutral

They couldn't do much more than conjure food and fresh water

他们最多只能变出食物和淡水。

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Even working together, they were unable to stop the seas or create more land

即使是齐心协力，他们也无法阻止海水上涨或是创造更多陆地。

旁白 neutral

" That's why everyone is desperate to escape to other worlds before all the land is gone," Ello said

"这就是为什么大家都拼命想在所有陆地消失前逃到别的世界去。"埃洛说。

旁白 neutral

" The trouble is the gulpers. They're attracted to magic energy — they feed on it

"麻烦就在于吞噬怪。它们会被魔法能量吸引——它们以此为食。

旁白 neutral

And there's no stronger magic in Skellia than a wormhole."

而在斯凯利亚，没有什么魔法比虫洞更强大的了。"

旁白 neutral

A woman nodded." Every time one pops into existence, the gulpers quickly gulp it down."

一个女人点点头。"每次虫洞一出现，吞噬怪就会迅速把它一口吞掉。"

旁白 neutral

" You mean they eat the wormholes?" Gliss exclaimed

"你是说它们会吃掉虫洞？"格里斯惊呼道。

旁白 neutral

" They swallow them whole." Ello shrugged." Unless a wormhole happens to pop up on land, it's nearly impossible to reach one before a gulper finds it."

"它们会整个吞下去。"埃洛耸耸肩。"除非虫洞碰巧出现在陆地上，否则几乎不可能在吞噬怪发现它之前赶到那里。"

旁白 neutral

" For instance," a fisherman said," those gulpers you saw have probably swallowed the wormhole you came through."

"比如说，"一个渔夫说，"你们看到的那些吞噬怪，很可能已经把你们来的那个虫洞吞掉了。"

旁白 neutral

Zann stared at his friends as they all realized what this meant

赞盯着他的朋友们，他们都意识到了这意味着什么。

旁白 neutral

They were trapped in this world, just like the natives!

他们被困在这个世界了，就和当地人一样！