Chapter 5

Chapter 5 THE DUNGEON WELCOMING COMMITTEE DESERVES ZERO STARS FROM A DISAFPOINTED VISITOR. Morgan and his friends dug only for a minute before they found the start of a cavern. There was a large underground hollow just beneath their feet. They descended carefully, carving out one block step at a time. It was dark. Even when they placed torches on the walls, they could see just a short distance. A tunnel stretched out before them, the ground sloping downward. "IT SEEMS LIKE WE'RE ON THE RIGHT PATH," said Ash.

第5章地牢欢迎委员会应该得到一个失望的访客的零颗星。 摩根和他的朋友们只挖了一分钟就发现了一个洞穴的开端。 就在他们脚下有一个很大的地下洞。 他们小心翼翼地往下走，一步一步地踏出一个街区。 天很黑。即使他们把火把放在墙上，也只能看到很短的距离。 一条隧道在他们面前展开，地面向下倾斜。 “看来我们走在正确的道路上，”阿什说。

"Yeah," said Jodi. "The creepy, treacherous, descending-into-the-darkness, who-knows-whatcould- be-down-there path. That seems right." "FEAR NOT, BOLD ROGUE," said Po. "For we have magic on our side." Jodi rolled her eyes, but she smiled. "Our choice is clear," said Harper. "We need to push forward and hope for the best." Morgan didn't know what to hope for. He was wearing a full set of diamond armor—the best armor possible! So he was less vulnerable than ever before. But his friends and sister were plenty vulnerable. Did he have what it took to protect them all? That was the role of the person with the best armor. In gaming terms, he was the tank. And it was a big responsibility. He shivered with uncertainty. Po leaned over and whispered in his ear. "I'LL BET ALL THE MOBS WE ENCOUNTER DOWN HERE WILL BE WEARING CHICKEN COSTUMES," he said. "So there's nothing to be nervous about." Morgan turned and gave his friend a grateful

“是的，”乔迪说。“这是一条令人毛骨悚然的、危险的、陷入黑暗的、谁知道会发生什么的小路。 这似乎是对的。”“别害怕，大胆的流氓，”阿宝说。 “因为我们有魔法。” 乔迪翻了个白眼，但还是笑了。 哈珀说：“我们的选择很明确。 “我们需要向前推进，抱最好的希望。” 摩根不知道该期待什么。 他穿着全套的钻石盔甲——最好的盔甲！所以他没有以前那么脆弱了。 但他的朋友和妹妹却很脆弱。 他有能力保护他们所有人吗？ 这就是穿着最好盔甲的人的角色。 用游戏术语来说，他就是坦克。 这是一个很大的责任。 他因不确定而发抖。 阿宝俯下身，在他耳边低语。 他说：“我敢打赌，我们在这里遇到的暴民都穿着鸡的服装。” “所以没有什么好紧张的。” 摩根转过身，感激地给了他的朋友一个吻

smile. Then he took a deep breath, gripped his shield tight, and stepped forward. The darkness gave way before them. Harper and Ash were right at Morgan's back, placing torches every few feet. Not only did that help them see, it would also help them retrace the route to their starting point. After a few minutes, the dirt walls and floor became stone, and the tunnel opened up. Morgan had a sense that the space was large, but he could only see so far. "I NEED MORE LIGHT," he said, so Harper

微笑。然后他深吸一口气，紧紧抓住盾牌，向前走了几步。 黑暗在他们面前消失了。 哈珀和阿什就在摩根身后，每隔几英尺就放上火把。 这不仅能帮助他们看到东西，还能帮助他们回溯到起点的路线。 几分钟后，泥土的墙壁和地面变成了石头，隧道打开了。 摩根感觉到空间很大，但他只能看到这么远。 “我需要更多的光线。”他说，于是哈珀

held up a torch. Morgan had been correct. They were in a vast cavern. But it wasn't made of rock and dirt, as he had expected. It was all stone and brick. And there were little specks of red light sprinkled through the darkness. "Spiders!" he hissed in warning. "Then our foe has made a grave error," Po said in his wizard voice. "For we are smiters of spiders! WE ARE ANNIHILATORS OF ARACHNIDS! We are—" An arrow flew from the darkness. It narrowly missed Po, hitting the wall beside his head. "WE ARE IN A LOT OF TROUBLE!" he cried. The spiders emerged from the darkness. There were a dozen of them, and they weren't alone. Sitting atop each spider was a skeleton. The bony creatures were armed with bows and arrows, and they were aiming them right at Morgan and his friends.

举起一支火把。摩根是对的。 他们在一个巨大的洞穴里。 但它并不像他想象的那样是由岩石和泥土构成的。 全是石头和砖。 在黑暗中有一些红色的小光点。 “蜘蛛！”他嘶嘶地警告。 “那么我们的敌人犯了一个严重的错误。”阿宝用巫师的声音说。 “因为我们是蜘蛛的猎手！”我们是蜘蛛的歼灭者！我们是——”黑暗中飞出一支箭。 它险些击中阿宝，击中了他头边的墙。 “我们有大麻烦了！”他叫道。 蜘蛛从黑暗中出现。 他们有十几个人，而且他们并不孤单。 每只蜘蛛的上面都有一具骨架。 这些骨瘦如柴的生物拿着弓箭，正瞄准摩根和他的朋友们。

Spider jockeys! Po screamed. Jodi ducked into the shadows. Harper and Ash hurried to replace their torches with weapons. "Come and get me, you ghouls!" Morgan shouted to get the attention of their foes. He sounded braver than he felt. But this was the tank's job, wasn't it? Every arrow that he blocked was an arrow that wasn't going to hurt one of his friends. He held his shield up and ran toward the spider jockeys.

蜘蛛骑手!阿宝尖叫。 乔迪躲进阴影里。 哈珀和阿什赶紧把火把换成武器。 “快来抓我，你们这些食尸鬼！”摩根大叫以引起敌人的注意。 他听起来比实际勇敢。 但这是坦克的工作，不是吗？ 他挡住的每一支箭都不会伤害到他的朋友。 他举起盾牌，向蜘蛛骑师跑去。

If his hope was to get their attention, then it worked. The spiders all moved toward him. The skeletons all fired in his direction. As long as they were right in front of him, he could block the arrows with his shield. But soon he would be surrounded. There was no way he could fight them all. Not alone… A spider jockey just ahead of him was hit with a flask. The container exploded on impact, covering both spider and skeleton with a sickly green poison. "Yes!" cried Harper. "DIRECT HIT!"

如果他的希望是引起他们的注意，那么他成功了。 蜘蛛都向他移动。 所有的骷髅都朝他的方向射击。 只要他们在他的正前方，他就可以用他的盾牌挡住这些箭。 但很快他就被包围了。 他不可能打败所有人。 不止一个……他前面的一个蜘蛛骑师被酒瓶击中了。 容器在撞击时爆炸，蜘蛛和骨架都被一种令人作呕的绿色毒药覆盖。 “是的！”哈帕叫道。“直接命中!”