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<font face=1>Beggar<br>
By Reven<br>
<br>
<IMG src="Book/fancy_font/e_78x61.dds" width=78 height=61>slaf Erol was the last of the litter of five born to the Queen of the prosperous Nordic kingdom of Erolgard, Lahpyrcopa, and her husband, the King of Erolgard, Ytluaf.  During pregnancy, the Queen had been more than twice as wide as she was tall, and the act of delivery took three months and six days after it had begun.  It is perhaps understandable that the Lahpyrcopa elected, upon expelling Eslaf to frown, say, 'Good riddance,' and die.<br>
<br>
Like many Nords, Ytluaf did not care very much for his wife and less for his children.  His subjects were puzzled, therefore, when he announced that he would follow the ancient tradition of his people of Atmora of following his beloved spouse to the grave.  They had not thought they were particularly in love, nor were they aware that such a tradition existed.  Still, the simple people were grateful, for the little royal drama alleviated their boredom, which was and is a common problem in the more obscure parts of northern Skyrim, particularly in wintertide.<br>
<br>
He gathered his household staff and his five fat, bawling little heirs in front of him, and divided his estate.  To his son Ynohp, he gave his title; to his son Laernu, he gave his land; to his son Suoibud, he gave his fortune; to his daughter Laicifitra, he gave his army.  Ytluaf's advisors had suggested he keep the inheritance together for the good of the kingdom, but Ytluaf did not particularly care for his advisors, or the kingdom, for that matter.  Upon making his announcement, he drew his dagger across his throat.<br>
<br>
One of the nurses, who was rather shy, finally decided to speak as the King's life ebbed away.  'Your highness, you forgot your fifth child, little Eslaf.' <br>
<br>
Good Ytluaf groaned.  It is somewhat hard to concentrate with blood gushing from one's throat, after all.  The King tried in vain to think of something to bequeath, but there was nothing left.  <br>
<br>
Finally he sputtered, irritably, 'Eslaf should have taken something then' and died.<br>
<br>
That a babe but a few days old was expected to demand his rightful inheritance was arguably unfair.  But so Eslaf Erol was given his birthright with his father's dying breath.  He would have nothing, but what he had taken.<br>
<br>
Since no one else would have him, the shy nurse, whose name was Drusba, took the baby home.  It was a decrepit little shack, and over the years that followed, it became more and more decrepit.  Unable to find work, Drusba sold all of her furnishings to buy food for little Eslaf.  By the time he was old enough to walk and talk, she had sold the walls and the roof as well, so they had nothing but a floor to call home.  And if you've ever been to Skyrim, you can appreciate that that is scarcely sufficient.<br>
<br>
Drusba did not tell Eslaf the story of his birth, or that his brothers and sister were leading quite nice lives with their inheritances, for, as we have said, she was rather shy, and found it difficult to broach the subject.  She was so painfully shy, in fact, that whenever he asked any questions about where he came from, Drusba would run away.  That was more or less her answer to everything, to flee.<br>
<br>
In order to communicate with her at all, Eslaf learned how to run almost as soon as he could walk.  He couldn't keep up with his adopted mother at first, but in time he learned to go toe-heel toe-heel if he anticipated a short but fast sprint, and heel-toe heel-toe if it seemed Drusba was headed for a long distance marathon flight.  He never did get all the answers he needed from her, but Eslaf did learn how to run.<br>
<br>
The kingdom of Erolgard had, in the years that Eslaf was growing, become quite a grim place.  King Ynohp did not have a treasury, for Suoibud had been given that; he did not have any property for income, for Laernu had been given that; he did not have an army to protect the people, for Laicifitra had been given that.  Futhermore, as he was but a child, all decisions in the kingdom went through Ynohp's rather corrupt council.  It had become a bureaucratic exploitative land of high taxes, rampant crime, and regular incursions from neighboring kingdoms.  Not a particular unusual situation for a kingdom of Tamriel, but an unpleasant one nonetheless.<br>
<br>
The time finally came when the taxcollector arrived to Drusba's hovel, such as it was, to collect the only thing he could - the floor.  Rather than protest, the poor shy maid ran away, and Eslaf never saw her again.  <br>
<br>
Without a home or a mother, Eslaf did not know what to do.  He had grown accustomed to the cold open air in Drusba's shack, but he was hungry.  <br>
<br>
'May I have a piece of meat?' he asked the butcher down the street. 'I'm very hungry.'<br>
<br>
The man had known the boy for years, often spoke to his wife about how sorry he felt for him, growing up in a home with no ceilings or walls.  He smiled at Eslaf and said, 'Go away, or I'll hit you.'<br>
<br>
Eslaf hurriedly left the butcher and went to a nearby tavern.  The tavernkeeper had been a former valet in the king's court and knew that the boy was by right a prince.  Many times, he had seen the poor ragged lad in the streets, and sighed at the way fate had treated him.<br>
<br>
'May I have something to eat?' Eslaf asked this tavernkeeper. 'I'm very hungry.'<br>
<br>
'You're lucky I don't cook you up and eat you,' replied the tavernkeeper.<br>
<br>
Eslaf hurriedly left the tavern.  For the rest of the day, the boy approached the good citizens of Erolgard, begging for food.  One person had thrown something at him, but it turned out to be an inedible rock.<br>
<br>
As night fell, a raggedy man came up to Eslaf and, without saying a word, handed him a piece of fruit and a piece of dried meat.  The lad took it, wide-eyed, and as he devoured it, he thanked the man very sweetly.<br>
<br>
'If I see you begging on the streets tomorrow,' the man growled. 'I'll kill you myself.  There are only so many beggars we of the guild allow in any one town, and you make it one too many.  You're ruining business.'<br>
<br>
It was a good thing Eslaf Erol knew how to run.  He ran all night.<br>
<br>
Eslaf Erol's story is continued in the book 'Thief.'<br>
<br>

訳文 Edit

<font face=1>Beggar<br>
Reven著<br>
<br>
<IMG src="Book/fancy_font/e_78x61.dds" width=78 height=61>slaf Erolは裕福なNordの国であるErolgardの国王Ytluafと王妃Lahpyrcopaの間にできた5つ子の末っ子である。妊娠中、王妃は倍ほどに膨れるにつれて背も高くなり、出産には3か月と6日もかかった。およそ理解できるがLahpyrcopaは覚悟を決め、顔をしかめてEslafを産み落とすと、「厄介払いができてよかったわ」と言い残し、息を引き取った。<br>
<br>
たいていのNordのように、Ytluafは彼の妻子に対してうまく世話をしてやることができなかった。王が、Atmoraの民の古いしきたりに従い、墓に眠る彼の最愛の妻の後を追うと告知したとき、臣民は当惑した。人々は特に自分たちのためになるとは思わなかったし、そのようなしきたりの存在も忘れられていた。それでも、無知な人々は、小さな王室のドラマが彼らの退屈―それはSkyrimの北方での、特に冬季における恒常的な問題である―を緩和してくれたことには感謝した。<br>
<br>
彼は使用人と5人の子息たち―彼の前で泣き叫んでいる―を集め、遺産を分配した。息子のYnohpには王位を、Laernuには国土を、Suoibudには財産を、娘のLaicifitraには軍隊を与えた。Ytluafの助言者は王国のために遺産を共同で保持することを提案したが、Ytluafは王国、特に助言者について気にかけなかった。続けて彼は、ダガーで自分ののどをかき切ることを宣言した。<br>
<br>
とあるやや内気な育児婦が、王の最期に際し、ついに語ることを決心した。「殿下、Eslafぼっちゃまのことをお忘れになられています」<br>
<br>
Ytluafは唸った。けれども、のどから血を噴出しながら集中するのは至難である。国王は何を遺すか考えたが、もう何も遺すものがなかった。<br>
<br>
ついには何か早口でまくしたて、苛立ったようすで「Eslafも何か受け継ぐべきだったのに」と言い残し、死んだ。<br>
<br>
生まれて数日の赤ん坊が自分の為に公正な遺産分配を要求するなどということはまずありえない。しかし、Eslaf Erolは父の死とともに生きる権利を得た。彼は、何も持ってはいなかった。<br>
<br>
誰も彼を引き取ろうとしなかったので、内気な育児婦―名をDrusbaといった―は赤ん坊を家へ連れて帰った。そこは小さなぼろ屋で、年月が経つにつれて、ますますさびれていった。仕事が見つからず、DrusbaはEslafの食事のためにすべての家具を売り払った。彼が歩き、話すことができるようになる頃には、家の屋根と壁をも売ってしまったので、彼らが家と呼ぶそれは、もはや床だけになっていた。Skyrimを訪れたことのある読者諸君ならばわかるだろうが、それはまったくもって不十分なものだった。<br>
<br>
Drusbaは、Eslafの出生や、彼の兄弟が遺産で裕福な暮らしをしているという話を彼にしなかった。なぜなら、前述の通り彼女は内気であり、それゆえ話を切り出せなかったのだ。それどころか、彼が自身の出生に関するあらゆる質問をした場合にも、Drusbaは逃げ出してしまうほどで、それほどに彼女は痛々しいくらい内気だった。逃げることは、およそすべてに対する彼女の答えだった。<br>
<br>
彼女と少しでも話し合うために、Eslafは歩くことができるようになるとすぐに走ることも覚えた。はじめ、彼は養母に付いていくことができなかったが、やがて彼はDrusbaの足の動きを見て逃げる速さと距離を予測することを学んだ。Eslafは彼女から望んだ答えを得ることはなかったが、彼は走ることを学んだ。<br>
<br>
Eslafが成長するころ、Erolgard王国はひどい国になっていた。国王Ynohpには国庫がなかった。それはSuoibudが相続したからだ。Suoibudは収入がなかった。それはLaernuが相続したからだ。Laernuには臣民を守るための軍隊がなかった。それはLaicifitraが相続したからだ。そのうえ、Ynohpは子供だったから、王国のすべての決定は彼の不正な議会によるものだった。王国は、税が高く犯罪が横行し、また近隣国からたびたび侵略を受ける官僚的で搾取的な土地になった。Tamrielの国家では特に珍しいことではないが、それでも不快なものだ。<br>
<br>
ついにDrusbaのぼろ屋―もはや家ですらなかったが―に収税吏が来たとき、彼が徴収できる唯一のものは――床だった。内気なメイドは抗議するどころか逃げてしまい、Eslafは二度と彼女に会うことはなかった。<br>
<br>
家も母もないEslafは、どうしていいかわからなかった。彼はDrusbaのぼろ屋の外の冷えた空気に慣れていたが、空腹だった。<br>
<br>
「肉をひとかけ頂けませんか?」彼は通りの肉屋に訊ねた。「とてもお腹が空いているんです」<br>
<br>
男は、Eslafが天井と壁無しの家で暮らしていることを知っていて、それにどれほど同情するかについて男の妻としばしば話していた。彼はEslafに微笑み、そして言った。「去れ、去らなければ殴る」<br>
<br>
Eslafは急いで肉屋を離れ、近くの宿屋に行った。そこの主人は元は王室の使用人で、その男子が正当な王子であることを知っていた。しばしば通りで彼を見かけては、運命のいたずらにため息をついていたのだ。<br>
<br>
「何か食べ物を頂けませんか?」Eslafは宿屋の主人に訊ねた。「とてもお腹が空いているんです」<br>
<br>
「とって食われないだけ良かったと思え」宿屋の主人は答えた。<br>
<br>
Eslafは急いで宿屋を離れた。その日はずっと、Erolgardの善良な市民に近づいて物乞いをした。ある人は彼に何かを投げつけた。見てみるとそれは石だった。<br>
<br>
夜が来ると、ある男がEslafに近付き、何も言わずに乾燥肉と果物を手渡した。若者はそれを手に取って目を見開き、それを平らげると、男にいたく感謝した。<br>
<br>
「もしお前が明日も通りで物乞いをするなら」男はどなった。「俺はお前を殺す。我々ギルドはひとつの街のbeggarの数を一定以下にしているが、お前がいると多過ぎることになる。お前はビジネスを台無しにしているんだよ」<br>
<br>
Eslaf Erolが走り方を知っていたのは幸いだった。彼は一晩中走った。<br>
<br>
Eslaf Erolの物語は次巻「Thief」に続く。<br>
<br>


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Last-modified: 2012-02-04 (土) 12:20:10