Chapter 15

chapter fifteen The adventurers stand in a circular clearing at the maze center, frozen into terrified silence. Thankfully, though, the Squancher is frozen, too. Frozen—'cause it's dead. Up close, Dirk sees that its hard-shelled body is divided into shimmering, segmented sections. They remind him of the armored plating they saw, weeks earlier, at the history museum. Everyone can relax. I took care of it. It was messy. But when I was finished, it was dead. "Galamelon!" Quint cries out.

冒险家们站在迷宫中心的一块圆形空地上，陷入了恐惧的沉默。 不过谢天谢地，吞噬者号也被冻住了。 冻住了——因为它死了。 近距离观察，德克看到它坚硬的身体被分成闪闪发光的分段部分。 这让他想起了几周前在历史博物馆看到的盔甲。 每个人都可以放松。我搞定了。 它很乱。但当我完成的时候，它已经死了。 “Galamelon !”昆特喊道。

"And—way more importantly—Carol!" Kimmy exclaims as the young carapace scampers around the dead Squancher. Quint is watching Skaelka. Her mouth is open slightly and her face is shifting from something like confusion to realization. "You did not kill this beast, fool," Skaelka says to Galamelon. Her voice is a whispered snarl. "I slayed the beast. Slayed it dead." Quint and Dirk exchange a baffled, anxious glance. Very gently, Quint says, "Skaelka, I think you're confused. We've been together since we entered the maze. How could you have—"

“还有，更重要的是——卡罗尔！”吉米惊叫着，小甲壳在死去的Squancher周围蹦蹦跳跳。 昆特在监视斯卡卡。 她的嘴微微张着，脸上的表情从困惑变成了领悟。 “你没有杀死这头野兽，傻瓜，”斯凯尔卡对加隆说。 她的声音像是在低声咆哮。 “我杀了那头野兽。杀了它。” 昆特和德克交换了一个困惑而焦虑的眼神。 昆特非常温和地说：“斯卡卡，我觉得你糊涂了。 我们进入迷宫后就在一起了。 你怎么能——”

Quit, this is Tammy. This is my axe. my Axe slayed the beast. Oh, well, I took care of it. Like I said, I kept an eye on the monster and I got some gunk on me on the process. So points for me. A ripe, rotting smell wafts off the Squancher, but Skaelka doesn't seem to notice. She's turning the goo- splattered axe over in her hands, eyeing it closely. Her tail twitches as she looks from the Squancher to her axe and to the Squancher again. She takes a step back, looking around—like she's seeing everything for the first time, but also like she's not. When she speaks, her voice is soft—and she sounds spooked. "There is no doubt it was I who felled this unfamiliar creature. I do not know when... but I know that I did."

住手，这是塔米。这是我的斧头。 我的斧头杀了野兽。好吧，我搞定了。 就像我说的，我一直盯着那个怪物在这个过程中我沾上了一些东西。 这是我的分数。一股成熟腐烂的气味从斯匡切尔散发出来，但斯卡卡似乎并没有注意到。 她把手里那把溅满浆糊的斧头翻过来，仔细地打量着它。 她的尾巴抽动着，从掠夺者看向她的斧头，又看向掠夺者。 她向后退了一步，环顾四周——好像她第一次看到一切，但又好像她不是。 当她说话的时候，她的声音很轻，听起来很害怕。 “毫无疑问，是我摸到了这个陌生的家伙。 我不知道什么时候……但我知道是我干的。”

Everyone stands silent. A towering, corn-carved sculpture of King Possum looms over them—and it only further reminds Quint of his failed conjuration in the palace hall. Drooler meeps at Dirk curiously, and Dirk shrugs. "Sorry, champ, no answers for ya." "Hold on..." Quint says, eyes shut tight as he turns this new info over in his head. "That would mean you've been in this maze before, Skaelka. Which means you made it through this maze before. And could do it again!" Kimmy's ears shoot up stiff-straight: hope! But Skaelka grimaces. "I cannot remember!" she snaps, slamming her axe into the ground. "Skaelka's memories are lost!" Kimmy says, "If the way out is stuck in your memory, I may be able to retrieve it. But I won't know for sure without getting inside that lovely brain of yours. Which means, well, I gotta get inside that lovely brain of yours. So—" CRACK! Just then, thunder erupts in the distance. The wind picks up, ruffling the cornstalks. They all look to the sky. Dark clouds are gathering. "A storm is coming," Dirk says.

每个人都沉默地站着。一座高耸的、用玉米雕刻的负鼠王雕像隐约出现在他们面前——这只会让昆特进一步想起他在宫殿大厅里失败的魔法。 流口水好奇地朝德克瞥了一眼，德克耸了耸肩。 “对不起，冠军，没有答案给你。” “等一下……”昆特说，眼睛闭得紧紧的，他把这个新信息在脑子里翻来复去。 “那意味着你以前来过这个迷宫，斯卡卡。 也就是说你之前穿过了这个迷宫。 而且还能再来一次！”吉米的耳朵竖起来：希望！但是Skaelka做了个鬼脸。 “我不记得了！”她厉声说，把斧头重重地劈在地上。 “斯卡卡的记忆丢失了！”吉米说：“如果出路卡在你的记忆里，我也许能找回来。 但如果不进入你可爱的大脑，我就无法确定。 也就是说，我得进入你可爱的大脑。 所以,“破解!就在这时，远处雷声大作。 风起了，吹皱了玉米秆。 他们都仰望天空。乌云正在聚集。 “暴风雨就要来了，”德克说。

"Nice," Galamelon says. "My hair looks good wet." Kimmy glares. "Galamelon. Rain means another Drakkor attack. On my town." Skaelka's body is rigid. She scowls, like allowing someone to pry around inside her brain is a violation she cannot permit, then looks down. "Skaelka..." Quint says softly. "We can figure another way out. You don't have to." Skaelka lifts her head and looks Quint in the eyes. There's something like recognition there. As if she knows she's heard his voice before. But then her mouth turns into a jaw-clenched scowl. To Quint, it looks like Skaelka was close to retrieving a forgotten memory—but that the memory has vanished again. Or... could it be something else? Quint wonders if maybe Skaelka's memories haven't been lost, exactly, but stolen? Tampered with? Skaelka has fought in countless other-dimensional conflicts and taken more battle damage than any warrior—but he's never seen her so shaken, so defeated. And who or what could do that? A breeze whips past them, carrying around the clearing, shaking the King Possum sculpture. Skaelka stiffens. "Kimmy, my memories are needed to help

“很好，”加隆说。“我的头发湿了看起来很好。” 吉米怒视。“Galamelon。下雨意味着又一次德拉寇袭击。 在我的镇上。”斯卡卡的身体是僵硬的。 她皱着眉头，好像允许别人窥探她的大脑是一种她不能允许的侵犯，然后低下头。 “Skaelka……”昆特轻声说。 “我们可以找到另一条出路。 你不需要这么做。”斯卡卡抬起头，看着昆特的眼睛。 这是一种认知。 好像她知道她以前听过他的声音。 但随后她的嘴变成了一个紧咬着下巴的皱眉。 在昆特看来，斯卡卡似乎即将找回一段被遗忘的记忆——但这段记忆又消失了。 还是……会是别的什么吗？ 昆特想知道斯卡卡的记忆是不是真的没有丢失，而是被偷走了？ 篡改?斯卡卡在无数次元的冲突中战斗过，比任何战士都遭受过更多的战斗伤害——但他从未见过她如此动摇，如此失败。 谁或什么能做到这一点？ 一阵微风从他们身边呼啸而过，吹过空地，摇晃着负鼠王雕像。 Skaelka变得僵硬了。"吉米，你需要我的记忆来帮你

your monsterfolk, but they are also the key to discovering what has been done to me." We must escape this miserable mace, and I must have answers if the only way of doing that is by entering my mind, then I permit you entry folks. Skelter's brain. Kimmy, walk away. Let's get to it Then. Scelta sit across from me "I'll need the help of a conjurer," Kimmy says. "A true conjurer—which means you, Quint." Quint swallows. "Are you sure? You've been brain-poking me and Dirk pretty successfully this entire journey." "This is different," Kimmy says. "What I'm about to attempt—it's like nothing I've ever done before. I need you—and your conjurer's cane." Quint catches Dirk's eye—and thinks about what Dirk was surely about to say earlier, when he showed Skaelka the group photo. Skaelka left Wakefield with

你的怪物，但他们也是发现我身上发生了什么的关键。” 我们必须逃离这痛苦的权杖，我必须找到答案如果唯一的方法就是进入我的思想，那么我允许你们进入。 张张的大脑。吉米，走开。 那我们开始吧。塞尔塔坐在我对面。“我需要一个魔术师的帮助，”吉米说。 “一个真正的魔术师——也就是你，昆特。” 五胞胎燕子。“你确定吗？” 一路上你都在给我和德克的脑子戳来戳去，相当成功。” “这是不同的，”Kimmy说。 “我将要尝试的——是我以前从未做过的。 我需要你——还有你的魔法杖。” 昆特抓住了德克的眼睛，想着德克早些时候给斯卡卡看合影时肯定要说的话。 斯卡卡离开韦克菲尔德时