Note/L10N/KDQ/2.03/Books/povssgoblinkingbook?
povssgoblinkingbook 
原文
<font face=1>
<DIV align="center">The Fall of the Goblin King<br>
by<br>
Kagnit Hopgrintle<br>
<br>
<br>
<DIV align="left"><IMG src="Book/fancy_font/o_69x62.dds" width=59 height=62>nce upon a time, in days of yore, the goblins of Cyrodiil were not the divided tribal louts always at each others' throats as we find today. They were united under a strong and charismatic king called Griddlefiggis the Cruel. Unlike most goblins, Griddlefiggis could speak the human tongue. He was a canny ruler. He could see that, from a human perspective, the goblins were vile, depraved beasts with unhealthy addiction to rat meat stew. To achieve his plan of world domination he had first to soften this image. To do this he persuaded several gullible humans - mainly bone-headed Nords and arrogant Altmer - to become part of the goblin society.
<p>
Their 'job' was to encourage other humans to join too. And they were successful up to a point. Certainly the goblins ate well for some years. Why the human helpers never queried that in spite of their successes the numbers of humans visible among the goblins never increased is hard to understand.
<p>
Griddlefiggis had worked out his plans to the last detail. Goblins lived mainly in caves but the human societies were far more comfortable. The king had himself commandeered the abandoned Fort Nomore which he had made 'luxurious' by goblin standards. This was only the beginning. With one breath he would make flattering and appeasing statements about improving relationships with the human societies, with another he prepared his generals for war. Slowly and discreetly his forces took over each fort, mine, cave and Ayleid ruin. A few were considered uninhabitable even by goblins and they were left alone but all the others were taken. Then it was the turn of isolated farms. Bears were released near Shardrock, apparently mindless raiders attacked Odiil and Harm's Folly farms, the owner of Shetcombe started to get messages from the beyond. Villages were also destroyed. Faregyl was burned to the ground, but for its inn and the Imperials were duped into destroying much of Hackdirt.
<p>
The plans were known only by Griddlefiggis and his most trusted warlords. At first these had all been together at Fort Nomore but as his methods succeeded Griddlefiggis had to send them away to control the further reaches of his growing empire. Then communication had to be in writing.
<p>
Being a goblin himself gave Giddlefiggis acute insight into the average goblin psyche. Most of his subjects would imagine that if the King was caught out and done away with by Imperials, they would be so grateful to the one who shopped the bugger they'd make them the new king. If these subjects were to find a piece of writing incriminating him, it would have been in the hands of the Imperials before he could say 'pokemon' (actually a very hard word for goblins to say). So he insisted that his warlords became fluent in the human tongue and sent all missives in that script. He also made damned sure that the warlords were at places his human visitors never went.
<p>
Now it just so happened that, not far from Fort Nomore, lived an isolated Khajiit called Ra J'Stan. In his youth he had been a member of some knightly group but they had been disbanded. The Khajiit had built himself a large house in the middle of an island in the Niben. It was close to Reedstand cave, one of the sites too damp to attract even the least fussy of goblins, which served his purpose. His isolation seemed to please him.
<p>
Of course the need for isolation and the proximity of a soggy cave were ideal for him as he was by occupation a thief, a very good thief.
<p>
Griddlefiggis knew of him, of course. Any isolated dwelling was high on his take-over list. But he had learned that, while a knight, Ra J'Stan had learned how to fight rather well. While ousting a few farmers who could barely wield a hoe in defence was one thing, attacking a fighter would make waves he was not quite ready to ride out.
<p>
In his turn Ra J'Stan knew of Griddlefiggis but he never bothered to rob goblins. He had quickly discovered that his probable haul would be no more than a couple of lettuces and rat meat. These were not worth risking life and limb for. He would have continued to ignore Griddlefiggis but for an article in the Courier. In the paper, Griddlefiggis had been quoted as saying that his security measures at Fort Nomore were impenetrable. This made the Khajiit's ears prick up. No one needed impenetrable security unless there was something worth stealing. Ra J'Stan determined to find that something. After a few days watching activity at the Fort he soon saw how he could get inside. The goblins consumed vast quantities of beer. Crates of it arrived weekly and were given no more than a cursory inspection. Next time he would be inside one of the crates.
<p>
Ra J'Stan had spent a few years in Morrowind. Once, on a ramble north of Gnisis, he had been persuaded to help a young woman retrieve a ring from a pond. As a result of that encounter he had an amulet that gave him 80% chameleon. It was not foolproof but sufficed for most encounters.
<p>
He was soon inside the fort but could not for the life of him see what all the fuss was about. Perhaps the tapestries were for once straight on the walls; pots were whole rather than broken and empty bottles were absent from most of the floor space but the best it could be described as was a slightly up-market goblin scruff hole.
<p>
But he wasn't going to give up without looking everywhere and came at last to Griddlefiggis's nerve centre. Naturally Ra J'Stan did not know what it was but the number of difficult locks he'd had to pick to get inside meant it was somewhere special. Yet even here he could find nothing of value. Perhaps it was irritation at the wasted effort that made him look at the pile of letters awaiting delivery. With increasing surprise and alarm he learned that the goblins were about to launch an assault on all the major cities of Cyrodiil within the week. He grabbed the letters intending to take them to Count Terentius.
<p>
Awkwardly, at that very moment, Griddlefiggis arrived. He was one of those for whom 80% chameleon was not enough. Ra J'Stan, taking advantage of surprise, managed to escape with the letters but he knew he had been recognised.
<p>
There were too many goblin hideouts between the Fort and Bravil for him to believe he could make it all the way especially as he was unarmed. Indeed he realised that his death was now inevitable. He would not go down easily and intended to take out a good many goblins in the process. He ran through the familiar terrain to his house. He had at best an hour to make his preparations. By chance a friend had turned up to visit. He gave him the letters and sent him off to get help, though he knew it would be a forlorn exercise. He stashed his most valuable belongings in Reedstand cave and worked out how to die in a blaze of glory.
<p>
And 'blaze' was exactly what he meant. In his itinerant days he had burgled the ruins below Mournhold and acquired many bottles of Pyroil Tar. He set his trap and then climbed to the roof with several bottles to hand. As the goblins arrived he began lobbing them from the rooftop.
<p>
Goblins are no more partial than humans at being turned into torches. Griddlefiggis could see that if he did not act quickly his cohorts would lose their morale and flee. There was one thing however that goblins would do - follow their totem. Grabbing this from his shaman he ran straight into the house. So, he reasoned, a few of his followers would be kebabed, but most would get through and they would give the sneaky Khajiit a taste of his own medicine.
<p>
Ra J'Stan waited until they were all in the house and then detonated the tar, most of which was stored in the cellars. The explosion was heard as far away as Leyawiin.
<p>
He did not survive but neither did any of the goblins. Griddlefiggis's treachery was soon made public, resulting in an Imperial purge of all their lairs. Thousands of goblins were massacred. They soon forgot about kings and returned to their primitive tribal ways.
<p>
There is a salutary lesson to be learned from this tale. If you have an object you don't want anyone to learn about, the worst thing you can do is to hide it.
訳文
<font face=1>
<DIV align="center">The Fall of the Goblin King<br>
by<br>
Kagnit Hopgrintle<br>
<br>
<br>
<DIV align="left"><IMG src="Book/fancy_font/o_69x62.dds" width=59 height=62>nce upon a time, in days of yore, the goblins of Cyrodiil were not the divided tribal louts always at each others' throats as we find today. They were united under a strong and charismatic king called Griddlefiggis the Cruel. Unlike most goblins, Griddlefiggis could speak the human tongue. He was a canny ruler. He could see that, from a human perspective, the goblins were vile, depraved beasts with unhealthy addiction to rat meat stew. To achieve his plan of world domination he had first to soften this image. To do this he persuaded several gullible humans - mainly bone-headed Nords and arrogant Altmer - to become part of the goblin society.
<p>
Their 'job' was to encourage other humans to join too. And they were successful up to a point. Certainly the goblins ate well for some years. Why the human helpers never queried that in spite of their successes the numbers of humans visible among the goblins never increased is hard to understand.
<p>
Griddlefiggis had worked out his plans to the last detail. Goblins lived mainly in caves but the human societies were far more comfortable. The king had himself commandeered the abandoned Fort Nomore which he had made 'luxurious' by goblin standards. This was only the beginning. With one breath he would make flattering and appeasing statements about improving relationships with the human societies, with another he prepared his generals for war. Slowly and discreetly his forces took over each fort, mine, cave and Ayleid ruin. A few were considered uninhabitable even by goblins and they were left alone but all the others were taken. Then it was the turn of isolated farms. Bears were released near Shardrock, apparently mindless raiders attacked Odiil and Harm's Folly farms, the owner of Shetcombe started to get messages from the beyond. Villages were also destroyed. Faregyl was burned to the ground, but for its inn and the Imperials were duped into destroying much of Hackdirt.
<p>
The plans were known only by Griddlefiggis and his most trusted warlords. At first these had all been together at Fort Nomore but as his methods succeeded Griddlefiggis had to send them away to control the further reaches of his growing empire. Then communication had to be in writing.
<p>
Being a goblin himself gave Giddlefiggis acute insight into the average goblin psyche. Most of his subjects would imagine that if the King was caught out and done away with by Imperials, they would be so grateful to the one who shopped the bugger they'd make them the new king. If these subjects were to find a piece of writing incriminating him, it would have been in the hands of the Imperials before he could say 'pokemon' (actually a very hard word for goblins to say). So he insisted that his warlords became fluent in the human tongue and sent all missives in that script. He also made damned sure that the warlords were at places his human visitors never went.
<p>
Now it just so happened that, not far from Fort Nomore, lived an isolated Khajiit called Ra J'Stan. In his youth he had been a member of some knightly group but they had been disbanded. The Khajiit had built himself a large house in the middle of an island in the Niben. It was close to Reedstand cave, one of the sites too damp to attract even the least fussy of goblins, which served his purpose. His isolation seemed to please him.
<p>
Of course the need for isolation and the proximity of a soggy cave were ideal for him as he was by occupation a thief, a very good thief.
<p>
Griddlefiggis knew of him, of course. Any isolated dwelling was high on his take-over list. But he had learned that, while a knight, Ra J'Stan had learned how to fight rather well. While ousting a few farmers who could barely wield a hoe in defence was one thing, attacking a fighter would make waves he was not quite ready to ride out.
<p>
In his turn Ra J'Stan knew of Griddlefiggis but he never bothered to rob goblins. He had quickly discovered that his probable haul would be no more than a couple of lettuces and rat meat. These were not worth risking life and limb for. He would have continued to ignore Griddlefiggis but for an article in the Courier. In the paper, Griddlefiggis had been quoted as saying that his security measures at Fort Nomore were impenetrable. This made the Khajiit's ears prick up. No one needed impenetrable security unless there was something worth stealing. Ra J'Stan determined to find that something. After a few days watching activity at the Fort he soon saw how he could get inside. The goblins consumed vast quantities of beer. Crates of it arrived weekly and were given no more than a cursory inspection. Next time he would be inside one of the crates.
<p>
Ra J'Stan had spent a few years in Morrowind. Once, on a ramble north of Gnisis, he had been persuaded to help a young woman retrieve a ring from a pond. As a result of that encounter he had an amulet that gave him 80% chameleon. It was not foolproof but sufficed for most encounters.
<p>
He was soon inside the fort but could not for the life of him see what all the fuss was about. Perhaps the tapestries were for once straight on the walls; pots were whole rather than broken and empty bottles were absent from most of the floor space but the best it could be described as was a slightly up-market goblin scruff hole.
<p>
But he wasn't going to give up without looking everywhere and came at last to Griddlefiggis's nerve centre. Naturally Ra J'Stan did not know what it was but the number of difficult locks he'd had to pick to get inside meant it was somewhere special. Yet even here he could find nothing of value. Perhaps it was irritation at the wasted effort that made him look at the pile of letters awaiting delivery. With increasing surprise and alarm he learned that the goblins were about to launch an assault on all the major cities of Cyrodiil within the week. He grabbed the letters intending to take them to Count Terentius.
<p>
Awkwardly, at that very moment, Griddlefiggis arrived. He was one of those for whom 80% chameleon was not enough. Ra J'Stan, taking advantage of surprise, managed to escape with the letters but he knew he had been recognised.
<p>
There were too many goblin hideouts between the Fort and Bravil for him to believe he could make it all the way especially as he was unarmed. Indeed he realised that his death was now inevitable. He would not go down easily and intended to take out a good many goblins in the process. He ran through the familiar terrain to his house. He had at best an hour to make his preparations. By chance a friend had turned up to visit. He gave him the letters and sent him off to get help, though he knew it would be a forlorn exercise. He stashed his most valuable belongings in Reedstand cave and worked out how to die in a blaze of glory.
<p>
And 'blaze' was exactly what he meant. In his itinerant days he had burgled the ruins below Mournhold and acquired many bottles of Pyroil Tar. He set his trap and then climbed to the roof with several bottles to hand. As the goblins arrived he began lobbing them from the rooftop.
<p>
Goblins are no more partial than humans at being turned into torches. Griddlefiggis could see that if he did not act quickly his cohorts would lose their morale and flee. There was one thing however that goblins would do - follow their totem. Grabbing this from his shaman he ran straight into the house. So, he reasoned, a few of his followers would be kebabed, but most would get through and they would give the sneaky Khajiit a taste of his own medicine.
<p>
Ra J'Stan waited until they were all in the house and then detonated the tar, most of which was stored in the cellars. The explosion was heard as far away as Leyawiin.
<p>
He did not survive but neither did any of the goblins. Griddlefiggis's treachery was soon made public, resulting in an Imperial purge of all their lairs. Thousands of goblins were massacred. They soon forgot about kings and returned to their primitive tribal ways.
<p>
There is a salutary lesson to be learned from this tale. If you have an object you don't want anyone to learn about, the worst thing you can do is to hide it.
