Chapter 22 Chapter 22 Dilemma

In the dream, the Fool stood by my bed, looked down at me, and shook his head. "Why can't I speak clearly? Because you're confusing everything. I see a crossroads in the fog, and who's always standing there? It's you. You think I'm helping you stay alive because Am I fascinated by you? No. Because you create so many possibilities. As long as you are alive, you can give us more choices; the more choices you have, the more likely you are to sail to calmer waters. Preserving your life is not for yourself, but for the benefit of the Six Duchies. So is your duty. Your duty is to live so that you can continue to offer more possibilities."

I woke up as confused as I was asleep, not knowing what to do.I lay in bed, listening to the waking sounds here and there in the palace.I needed to talk to Chade, but it wasn't possible, so I closed my eyes gently and tried to think the way he had taught me. "What do you know?" he'd ask me, and "What do you suspect?" So. Regal had lied to King Shrewd about Ruresh's health and his attitude towards the Six Duchies.Or, it's also possible that King Shrewd lied to me and distorted what Regal reported to him.Or Ruresh is lying, he doesn't treat us that way.I thought about it for a while and decided to go with my first hypothesis.Shrewd never lied to me, I know that, and Ruresh could just let me die instead of rushing into my room.so.So Emperor Zun wanted to put Lu Ruishi to death, didn't he?If he wanted Lu Ruili to die, why did he reveal my identity to Kettricken?Unless she's lying about it.I thought about it.Not too possible.She might have wondered if Shrewd had sent an assassin, but why did she immediately decide to accuse me?No, she knew me by my name, and she knew Lady Thyme.so.

Regal had said twice last night that he wanted his father to send Lady Thyme, but he had also leaked Lady Thyme's name to Kettricken.Who does Emperor Zun really want to kill?Prince Ruresh?Or Lady Thyme, or me, after the assassination attempt is revealed?What good had all this, and this marriage he had arranged, done him?And why did he insist that I kill Lu Ruishi, who obviously has more political interests for us alive? I need to talk to Chade, but I can't.I had to figure out a way to make the decision on my own.unless. The servant brought water and fruit again.I got up and changed into those cumbersome and obnoxious formal clothes, ate, and left the room.Today is the same as yesterday, and the festive atmosphere is starting to tire me out.I try to make the most of my time and increase my knowledge of the palace, its routines and topography.I found Eyo's room, Kettricken's room, Ruresh's room, and studied the steps and brackets leading to Regal's room.I found out that Cobb, like Burrich, slept in the stables.It didn't surprise me that Burrich did that, he wouldn't let anyone else take over the horses from Buckkeep until he left Jaampey, but why was Cobb sleeping there?To impress Burrich, or to spy on him?Both Severon and Chatter slept in the antechamber of Regal's chambers, although there were obviously plenty of spare rooms in the palace.I tried researching the positions and hours of the guards and sentries, but I couldn't see a single one.And I have been paying attention to Weiyi, and I waited for most of the morning before I had the opportunity to talk to him when there were relatively few people around. "I need to talk to you. Privately," I told him.

He looked annoyed and glanced around to see if anyone was watching us. "Don't talk about it here, Fitz. Maybe when we get back to Buckkeep. I've got business and—" I had expected his reaction.I opened my palm so he could see the pin the king had given me many years ago. "See? King Shrewd gave it to me a long time ago. This pin represents his promise that whenever I need to speak to him, if I show this pin, I can enter his room." "It's touching." !” Wei Yi said sarcastically. "Is there any particular reason you're telling me this story? Maybe it's to impress me about your importance?" "I need to speak to the king. Now." "He's not here." Weiyi pointed out, turning to walk away .I took his arm and turned him back. "You can transfer skills to him." He angrily shook off my hand and looked around again. "Absolutely not. And even if I could, I wouldn't. Do you think everyone who knows the Skill can bother the king?" "I've shown you the pin, and I promise he won't think you You're bothering him." "No." "Then find Verity." "I can't skill Verity unless he skills me first. Bastard, you don't understand, you've been trained and failed, you're right The Skill has really no concept at all. This is not greeting a friend across the valley, it is serious business, to be used only for serious purposes." He turned again to leave.

"Turn back, Weiyi, or you will regret it forever." I tried my best to put every ounce of threat into my voice.It was an empty threat, and there was nothing I could do to make him regret it, except to inform the king. "He won't be happy if Shrewd knows you ignored his signs." Wei Yi slowly turned back and glared at me. "Well, then I will do it, but you must promise to take full responsibility." "I will. Then you will come to my room to pass skills for me now?" "Is there no other place available?"" Your room?" I suggested. "No, that's worse. Don't get me wrong, bastard, but I don't want people to think that I'm involved with you." "Don't get me wrong, son, I feel the same way about you."

At last we came to a quiet corner of Kettricken's Medicine Leather Garden, where Prestige sat on a stone bench and closed his eyes. "What message do I want to send to Shrewd?" I thought about it.The information had to be like a riddle, so that Weiyi would not know the real problem I was facing. "Tell him that Prince Ruresh's health is excellent, and we can all hope to see him live a long life. Regal still wants to give him the gift, but I don't think it's appropriate." Wei Yi opened his eyes. "The Skill is important—" "I know. You just tell him."

So Weiyi sat there, took several breaths, and closed his eyes.After a while he opened his eyes. "He told you to listen to Regal." "That's it?" "He's busy and very unhappy. Don't bother me anymore, I'm afraid you've made me look bad in front of His Majesty the King." I could have responded with a dozen different glib answers, but I let him go, wondering if he'd passed on King Shrewd at all.I sat on the stone bench and thought, I am gaining nothing and wasting a lot of time by doing this.I felt a temptation, so I tried the technique transmission myself.I close my eyes, breathe in, focus, and open myself.Shrewd, Your Majesty.

nothing.no answer.I suspect that I didn't spread the skills at all.I stood up and walked back to the palace. At noon that day, Kettricken climbed up to the dais alone.What she said today was also very simple, just like she announced the day before that she had established a bond with the people of the Six Principalities.From this moment on, she was their sacrifice and had to obey their orders to do everything.Then she thanked her own people, the blood of her blood, for raising her and treating her well, and reminded them that she now switched allegiances not because she did not love them, but because she hoped to bring the two peoples together. All can benefit from it.There was another silence as she descended the steps.Tomorrow she would swear allegiance to Verity as a woman to a man.As far as I know, tomorrow Emperor Zun and Weiyi will stand beside her instead of Verity, and Weiyi will use a technique to let Verity see his bride swearing to him.

I live this day like a year.Osmanthus took me to see the blue fountain' I tried my best to appear interested and happy.When we got back to the palace 'continue to enjoy more minstrel performances, continue to feast and celebrate, and in the evening there is an exhibition of handicrafts made by the mountain people'There are jugglers and trapeze performances, and dogs perform acrobatics' and The nimble and strong swordsmen have an exhibition match.Blue smoke can be seen everywhere 'many people smoke it happily' while walking around and talking, shaking their small incense burners in front of them.I understand that smoke is for them like our carris seed cake' is a special indulgence for the holidays, but I steer clear of those wisps of smoke from burning pots.I must keep my head clear.Chade gave me a potion to sober me up, but I have neither nor heard of an antidote for smoke' and I'm not used to smoke.I found a quieter corner and stood there pretending to be engrossed in the singing of a bard, but watching Regal from behind.

Regal sat at a table flanked by brass censers.Wei Yi looked very reserved, and sat a short distance away from him.They talked from time to time, 'Weiyi's attitude is very serious, and the prince's attitude is very frivolous.I wasn't close enough to hear what they were saying, but I could see from the shape of Prestige's lips that he mentioned my name and the Skill.I saw Kettricken walking towards Regal, noticing that she avoided standing directly in the direction the smoke was coming from.Regal talked to her for a long time, smiling and languidly, reaching out once to touch her hand and the silver ring she was wearing.Smoke makes some people talkative and braggarty, and he seems to be one of them.She looked like a little bird hovering on a branch, approaching him with a smile, then backing away and becoming more formal.Then Ruresh came and stood behind his sister, spoke briefly to Regal, and took Kettricken's arm and led her away.Sevron appeared and refilled Regal's censer. Regal smiled silly and thanked the whole hall. After saying something, Sevron laughed and left.Not long after, Cobb and Chatter came to talk to Regal.Wei Yi got up and 'went away indignantly'. Regal had a scowling face and sent Cobb to call him back.Wei Yi came back, but not reconciled' Regal scolded him' Wei Yi widened his eyes angrily, then lowered his eyes and obeyed him.I wish I could get closer and listen to what they were saying, I felt like there was definitely something going on.Those things may have nothing to do with me and my mission, but I don't really believe it.

I thought again about the meager facts I knew, and thought I must be missing the point of something, but I also wondered if I was kidding myself, maybe I was overreacting to everything.Perhaps the safest course is to do what Regal says and let him take full responsibility.Maybe I should save time and slit my own throat.Of course, I could go straight to Lu Ruishi, tell him that Regal is going to kill him despite my best efforts, and beg him to protect me.After all, who wouldn't find a trained assassin who's already betrayed a master attractive? I can tell Regal that I'm going to kill Lu Ruishi and not do it.I thought about this carefully. I can tell Regal that I'm going to kill Lu Ruishi, and then kill Regal.It's all from the smoke, I tell myself.Only the smoke makes the idea seem sensible. I could go to Burrich, tell him I'm really an Assassin, and ask him for advice on my situation. I can ride the princess's horse and escape into the mountains. "How are you doing, are you having fun?" Jiang Qi came over and asked, holding my arm. I found myself staring at a man who took turns throwing knives and torches. "I will never forget this experience," I said to her, and suggested a walk in the cool garden.I know the smoke is taking its toll on me. Late that night, I went to Regal's room to report for duty.This time it was Nade who opened the door and let me in, with a pleasant smile. "Good evening." He greeted me, and I walked in as if walking into a wolf's den.The air in the room is full of blue smoke, and the kindness of the conversation seems to come from this.Regal made me wait again, and although I lowered my head, pressed my chin to my chest, and breathed shallowly, I knew the smoke still had an effect on me.Get in control, I remind myself, try not to feel the giddiness.I moved around in my seat several times, and finally put a hand over my nose and mouth openly, but it didn't do much to stop the smoke. The door to the chamber opened, and I looked up, but it was only Sefren who appeared.He glanced at Chatter, then came and sat next to me.He was silent for a while, and I asked, "Can Regal see me now?" Sevron shook his head. "He's... having guests now. But he told me everything you need to know." He held a small white packet in the hand that lay between us on the stool. "He brought this for you, and I'm sure you'll agree. Add a little to dissolve in wine, and you can die, but not too quickly. The person won't even have any symptoms for several weeks, and then The burnout is starting to get worse. He won't suffer." He added, as if that was my main concern. I racked my brains. "Is this Gurcox resin?" I've heard of the poison, but never seen it.If Regal had access to it, Chade would be curious to know. "I don't know what it's called, and it doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that Prince Regal said you'll need it tonight. You'll find out." "What does he expect me to do? Just go straight to his room Go, knock on the door, and give him the poisoned wine? Isn't that too obvious?" "Of course it would be obvious, but your training must have given you a more subtle approach?" "My training has taught me that this is not the kind of thing to discuss with a valet. I must hear Regal ordering me, or I will not act." Sevren sighed. "My master had expected you to say that. His message was as follows: With the pin you are carrying and the crest on your chest, he has given you this order. If you refuse, it is tantamount to rejecting His Majesty Guo Tao. , which is tantamount to committing treason. He will make sure you are hanged for it." "But I—" "Take it and go. The longer you wait, the later it will be, and it will be too late for you to go to his room." It seems more ulterior motives." Sevron suddenly stood up and left.Sitting in the corner like a toad, he stared at me with a smile.If I want to keep my usefulness as an Assassin, I have to kill them both before returning to Buckkeep.I wonder if they know this.I smiled at the chatter too, with a taste of smoke in my throat.I took the poison and left. Once down the steps of the Regal Chamber, I retreated to the darkest wall and climbed the pillars of the Regal Chamber as fast as I could.I climbed on it like a cat, squeezed myself in between the brackets in the floor of the room and asked, waiting.Wait again.The smoke swirled in my head, and I was already tired, and the effects of the Kettricken herb hadn't quite worn off, and I gradually began to wonder if it was all just a dream.I wondered if my clumsy trap would come to nothing.Finally I thought, Regal told me he had specifically asked the king to send Lady Thyme.But Shrewd is me.I recall Chade wondering about this, and finally what he said to me.Has my king betrayed me to Regal?If he did, why should I be loyal to any of them?Eventually I saw Nade leave and come back with Cobb after what seemed like an eternity. I couldn't hear much through the floor, but enough to make out Regal's voice as he revealed my plans for the night to Cobb.Once I was sure of that, I wriggled out of my hiding place, climbed down, and went back to my room.I have prepared certain special items in my room, firmly reminding myself that I am a citizen of my prince.I told Verity so.I leave the room and walk gently through the palace.In the hall, common people spread mats and slept on the ground, forming concentric circles around the platform, occupying the best positions, and seeing their princess swearing tomorrow.I walked between them and they didn't even move.The people here are so full of trust, but the trust object is wrong. The rooms of the royal family are at the rear of the palace, furthest from the gates.There are no guards here.I passed the door of the reclusive king, I passed the door of Ruresh, and I came to Kettricken's door.Her door was decorated with hummingbirds and honeysuckle, and I thought the Fool would like it if he saw it.I knock lightly on the door and wait.Time passed slowly.I knocked again. The street heard the sound of bare feet moving on the wooden floor, and then the sliding door with painted patterns opened.Kettricken's braids were newly braided, but there were already some fine strands of hair loose around her face.Her white nightgown accentuated her whiteness, making her look as pale as the Fool. "Do you need anything?" she asked sleepily. "Just one question from you." The smoke still haunts my mind, and I want to smile and say something smart and witty to her.Pale beauty, I thought.I pushed the urge away.She is waiting for my question. "If I killed your brother tonight," I asked cautiously, "what would you do?" She didn't even take a step back. "Of course I will kill you. At least I will demand that you be put to death and justice will be done. Now that I have sworn allegiance to your family, I cannot take your life with my own hands." "But will you still have a wedding? Will you marry Verity?" "Do you want to come into the house?" "I don't have time. Will you marry Verity?" "I swear allegiance to the Six Kingdoms and be their queen. I swear allegiance to their people. Tomorrow I will swear allegiance to the Crown Prince, not to a man called Verity. But even if that is not the case, think for yourself, which is the most binding? I am bound. I am not only bound by my own oath, And my father's oath, plus my brother's oath. I wouldn't want to marry the man who ordered my brother's death, but it wasn't that man that I swore allegiance to, but the Six Duchies. I was sent there, hoping It benefits my people, so I have to go there." I nod. "Thank you, Your Royal Highness, I'm sorry I disturbed your rest." "Where are you going now?" "Go to your brother." I turned and walked to her brother's room, where she stood there without moving.I knock on the door and wait.Lou Ruishi must be fidgeting, because he opened the door much faster. "Can I go in?" "Of course." Very personable, as I expected.A feeling of wanting to eat and laugh interfered with my determination.Chade wouldn't be proud to see you like this, I told myself, refusing to smile. I entered the room and he closed the door. "Shall we have a drink?" I asked him. "If you want a drink," he said, puzzled but polite.I sat in a chair while he uncorked a glass bottle and poured wine for both of us.There is also an incense burner on his table, which is still warm.I hadn't seen him indulging himself with the smoke earlier, he probably thought it would be safer to wait until he was alone in the room.But who knows when an assassin will come to you with a bag full of death?I suppressed a smirk.He filled two glasses of wine, I leaned forward to show him my little paper packet, then carefully poured the poison into his wine, took the pole to shake it, watched the powder melt, and passed the glass to him. he. "Well, I came to poison you. You die. Then Kettricken kills me. Then she marries Verity." I raised my glass and took a sip. It was cider, from Farrow I guessed. Yes, probably one of the congratulatory gifts. "What benefits can Emperor Zun get in this way?" Luresh glanced at his glass of wine in disgust, put it aside, took mine from my hand and drank it.There was no shock in his tone, and he said, "So he gets rid of you. I don't think he likes your company very much. He has been very kind to me, and has given me and my kingdom many gifts, but if I'm dead, and Kettricken is the only heir to the Kingdom of the Mountains, so that's good for the Six Duchies, isn't it?" "We can't even protect what we have now. And I think Regal would think that would be bad for Verity." Good, not good for the kingdom." I heard a sound outside the door. "This must be Cobb, come and catch me who poisoned you." I reasoned.I got up and went to the door, opened it, and Kettricken rushed past me into the room.I quickly closed the sliding door. "He's here to poison you." She warned Lu Ruishi. "I know." He said seriously. "He poured the poison into my glass, so I drink from his glass." He took the bottle and refilled it, handing it to her. "It's cider." He coaxed her who shook her head. "I don't see what's funny about it," she said fiercely.Lu Ruishi and I looked at each other and giggled.It's about smoke. Her brother smiled kindly. "That's right. Fitz Knight figured it out, he must die tonight. Too many people know he's an assassin. If he kills me, you'll kill him; if he doesn't kill me, How will he go back to face the king? Even if the king forgives him, most people in the court will know that he is an assassin, so he is useless. A useless illegitimate child is an unnecessary burden to the royal family." Lu Ruishi After speaking, he drank the wine in the glass in one gulp. "Kettricken told me that even if I killed you tonight, she would swear allegiance to Verity tomorrow." He was still not surprised. "What's the benefit of her refusal? It will only make the Six Principalities an enemy of us. Then she will betray her oath to your people, and our people will be blinded. She will be spurned and exiled. No good and it won't bring me back from the dead." "Won't your people revolt if you marry her to someone like that?" "We'll protect them from the truth. I mean Yiyo and I My sister will. Is it necessary to make the whole kingdom go to war just because of the death of one person? Don’t forget, I am the sacrifice here.” For the first time I vaguely understood the meaning of the word. "I might make a fool of myself in front of you soon," I warned him. "They told me it was a slow poison, but I've read that it's not a slow poison. It's a simple extract of the 'dead root', which actually works very quickly. First of all it makes people shiver. Lu Ruishi put his hands on the table, shaking.Kettricken looked about to be taken aback by the two of us. "Then death will come soon. I think I'll be caught red-handed, and taken out with you." Lu Ruishi scratched his throat, then let his head drop forward abruptly. "I'm poisoned!" he recited dramatically. "I've had enough," Kettricken spat, as Cobb flung the door open. "Beware of traitors!" he cried.He turned pale when he saw Kettricken there. "Your Highness, tell me you didn't drink that wine! This bastard traitor poisoned it!" I think his performance was greatly discounted because we didn't react.Kettricken and I exchanged glances.Ruresh rolled out of his chair and onto the floor. "Hey, stop making trouble." She said to him angrily. "I poured the poison into the wine," I told Cobb affectionately. "Exactly as ordered." Then Lu Ruishi's back arched, and the first spasms began. For a split second I seemed to see nothing, and realized that I had been tricked.There is poison in the wine.The farlow cider as a gift was probably only given to them this evening.Regal doesn't trust me to really poison me, but it's too easy to do something in this trusting, defenseless place.I watched Lu Ruishi's body arch again, knowing that there was nothing I could do.My own mouth has begun to gradually become numb.I looked at it almost indifferently, not knowing how heavy the dose was in the wine.I only took a small sip.Am I going to die here, or on the gallows? A moment later Kettricken realized for herself that her brother was really dying. "You soulless scum!" she spat at me, then fell to her knees beside Luresh. "You lower his defenses with jokes and smoke, smile with him, and watch him die!" Her eyes flicked to Cobb. "I want him dead. Tell Regal to come here at once!" I run for the door, but Cobb moves faster.Of course, Cobb didn't smoke tonight.He was quicker, more muscular, and clearer than I was.He grabbed me with both arms and threw me to the ground, put his face close to my lids, and punched me in the stomach.I recognized the breath, the sweat, the smell the blacksmith had smelled before he died.But this time the knife was in my sleeve, very sharp, and coated with the fastest-acting poison Chade knew.After I stabbed the knife into his body, he still had the strength to punch me twice more, and then fell to the ground dying.Goodbye, Cobb.As he was down I suddenly saw a freckled stable boy saying, "Come on, be nice!" Things could have gone so many different ways.I know this man, and to kill him is to kill a part of my own life.The Borui layer must be very angry with me. All these thoughts are completed in a fraction of a second.Before Cobb's hand hit the floor, I was already running for the door. Kettricken moved faster.Now I think it was a brass kettle, when all I saw was a burst of intense white light that exploded. I awoke with pain all over my body.The most immediate pain was in the wrists, because the knots that bound my hands behind my back were unbearably tight.Someone is carrying me.It's barely a lift!Neither Chatter nor Sevren seemed to care that some part of my body was dragging on the ground.Regal was there, carrying a torch, and a Chiuda I didn't know led the way with another.I don't know where I am, only that we are outside. "Is there no other place for us to lock him up? Is there no particularly safe place?" Regal asked.The other muttered something back, and then Regal said, "No, you're right. We don't want to make a fuss at this juncture. Tomorrow is fast enough, and I don't think he'll make it to tomorrow." A door opened and I was thrown headlong in, onto a dirt floor covered only by rice carts.I inhaled dust and gluten, but couldn't get enough to cough.Emperor Zun compared with torches. "Go to the princess," he ordered Sevren, "and tell her I'll be there shortly. See if we can do anything to make the prince more comfortable. You, nag, get Majesty out of his room, We need his skills to let King Shrewd know he saved and raised a scorpion. I need his permission to let the little bastard die. If he lives long enough to be condemned. Go ahead. , go now. Go!" They left, and the Qiwuda showed them the way.Regal stays here, looking down at me.He waited until the sound of their footsteps died down, then kicked me hard in the ribs.I yelled out, but I couldn't make out the yell because my mouth and throat were paralyzed. "This scene seems familiar, doesn't it? You're rolling in the hay and I look down at you and wonder what bad luck brought you into my life? It's so weird how so many things end just as they began. ""And many times, the laws of nature and justice are also reciprocal. Think about it, poison and betrayal are what kill you, and my mother is the same. Ah, you are shocked. Do you think I don't know? I already knew Yes. I know a lot of things you think I don't, including the smell of Lady Thyme, and how you lost your Skill because Burrich wouldn't let you draw on his powers. He'll help you when he finds out would kill him, and abandon you immediately." I trembled all over, and Regal shook his head and laughed, then turned away with a sigh. "It's a pity that I can't stay here to watch the show, but I still have a princess to comfort me! Poor little girl, she vows to marry a man she already hates very much." If Regal didn't leave, then I left.I am not sure.It was as if the sky had split open and I flowed out. "Open yourself," Verity told me, "just don't keep closed." Then, I think I dreamed of the jester.And Verity, sleeping with his head in his hands, as if trying to keep his thoughts in his head.And Galen's voice, echoing in a dark and cold room. "Tomorrow will be better. Now when he is passing skills, he doesn't even know which room he is sitting in. I am not close enough to him to do it from a distance, we have to have physical contact. " There is a squeak in the dark, a nasty rat-like mind I don't know. "Do it now." It insisted. "Don't be stupid," Galen scolded it. "Are we going to rush this juncture and lose it all? Tomorrow is fast enough. Just let me worry about that part, you have to clean this up, chatter and Sevren know too much , and the stable keeper has been bothering us too long." "You've got me standing in a sea of ​​blood," the mouse squeaked angrily. "Cross the sea of ​​blood to the throne," Galen suggested. "Then keep the stable master here," Galen said disgustedly, and then added, thinking, "When you get back, I'll kill him myself. I don't mind doing that. But the others had better get rid of them quickly. Perhaps little The bastard also poisoned the other wine, the wine in your room, and your servant accidentally drank it." "Probably! You have to find me a new valet." "We put your wife in charge That's enough. You should be with her now, she just lost her brother, you have to be horrified that this happened, try to blame it on the little bastard instead of Verity, But don't be too convincing. Wait until tomorrow, when you have lost your brother like her, and we will see what your sympathy will produce." "She is as strong as a cow and as white as a fish. "But with a mountainous kingdom, you can have an inland kingdom that is strong enough to defend against the enemy. You also know that the coastal duchy will not support you, and Faro and Tirs can't be sandwiched between the mountainous and coastal duchies." Survive alone. Besides, after she gives birth to her first child, she won't have to let her continue to live." "Fitzhorse? Zhan Yuan," Verity said in his dream.King Shrewd and Chade were playing with bone dice.Patience was disturbed in his sleep. "Junqi?" she asked softly. "Is that you?" "No," I said. "No one. No one." She nodded and continued to sleep. When my eyes could focus again, it was dark and I was alone.My jaw was shaking, my chin and the front of my shirt were full of my own drool.The numbness seemed to subside a little bit, and I wondered if that meant the poison was killing me.I doubt it makes much difference, the chances of me being able to speak for myself are slim.I lost feeling in my hands, but at least it didn't hurt.I am so thirsty.I don't know if Ruresh is dead, but he drank a lot more than I did, and Chade said the poison worked fast. As if answering my question, a howl of the purest anguish went straight for the moon, and the sound seemed to linger, pulling my heart high with it.The owner of the big nose is dead. I rushed towards it with all my heart, and hugged it tightly with my wit.I know, I know, we tremble together because the one he loves is gone where we can no longer find him.A great loneliness wraps us together. kid?The information is weak but sure.A paw, a snout, and the door was squeezed open.It came softly toward me, its nose telling me that I stink, of smoke and sweat of blood and fear.It came to me and lay down on its stomach, resting its head on my back.With physical contact, that emotional bond was restored, stronger now because Ruiz was gone. He left me.I'm in so much pain. I know.It's been a long time.Will you untie me?The old dog raised his head.No human being grieves as strongly as a dog, and we should be grateful for that.But it still stood up from the abyss of pain and began to bite my rope with its worn teeth. I felt that the rope was gradually loosening, but I didn't even have the strength to tear it apart.Big Nose turned his head and began to gnaw with the back teeth. The rope finally snapped, and I pulled my arm forward, and now the pain all over my body took on a different form.My hands are still numb, but I can roll away to keep my face from remaining buried in the straw.Big Nose sighed with me.It rested its head on my chest, and I wrapped a stiff arm around it.我全身又一阵强烈的颤抖，肌肉紧缩再紧缩，剧烈的抽搐让我眼冒金星。但那阵痉挛过去了，我还在呼吸。 我再度张开眼睛。光线照得我什么也看不见，但我不知道那光线是不是真的。我身旁的大鼻子摇着尾巴，尾巴啪啪拍打在稻草堆上。博瑞屈缓缓在我们身旁蹲跪下来，一只手温和地摸着在大鼻子的背。我的眼睛逐渐适应他提灯的光，看见了他脸上的哀伤。“你是不是要死了？”他问我。他的声音是那么中性，仿佛是石头开口说话。“我不确定。”这是我试着说的话。我的嘴巴还不是很听使唤。他起身拎着提灯走开，我独自躺在黑暗里。 然后光线又回来了，博瑞屈提来了一桶水，扶起我的头，把一些水倒进我嘴里。“别咽下去。”他告诫我，但反正我也没办法让吞咽相关的肌肉发挥效用。他冲了我的嘴巴两次，然后想让我喝下一点水，差点没把我给淹死。我用木头般僵硬的手挡开水桶。“^不。”我好不容易说出来。 过了一会儿，我的头脑似乎清醒了些。我移动舌头舔舔牙齿，舌头有感觉了。“我杀了柯布。”我告诉他。“我知道，他们把他的尸体抬到马厩这里来了。没人愿意告诉我半点事。”“你怎么会找到我的？”他叹了口气。“我只是有种感觉。”“你听见了大鼻子。”“对，它那声哀嚎。”“我指的不是那个。”他静了很长一段时间。“感觉到某种东西跟实际使用它是不一样的。”我想不出如何回答他这句话。过了一会儿我说'“柯布就是那个在楼梯间拿刀捅你的人。”“是吗？”博瑞屈思索着。“我确实纳闷过为什么那些狗都没怎么叫。它们认识他。只有铁匠有反应。”我的双手突然尖锐刺痛地恢复了知觉。我把双手抱在胸前滚到一旁，大鼻子哀鸣一声。“不要那样。”博瑞屈气愤地说。“我现在没办法控制。”我回答。“我全身上下都好痛，整个人的感觉到处乱流乱窜。”博瑞屈沈默不语。“你要帮我吗？”最后我问。“我不知道。”他轻声说，然后几乎是用哀求的语调说，“斐兹，你到底是什么？你变成了什么样的人？”“我跟你一样，”我诚实地告诉他。“都是吾王子民。博瑞屈，他们要杀惟真。如果他们得逞了，帝尊就会变成国王。”“你在说什么啊？”“如果我们待在这里直到我解释完整个来龙去脉，就来不及了。帮助我离开这里。”他似乎花了很长一段时间考虑，但最后他终于扶我站起来，我紧抓住他的袖子，蹒跚走出马厩，走入夜色。