The sun was almost setting over Hammerhold. Alric nervously paced around the palace hall. He was waiting for Malik; there was a topic of utter importance he had to discuss with the current leader of Hammerhold.
太阳几乎在重锤要寨上空落山了。沙王艾尔利克紧张地在宫殿大厅里走来走去。他在等待马里克：有一个极其重要的话题让他不得不与重锤要寨的现任领导人讨论。
A few months ago, an emissary from the kingdom brought some disturbing news: Vez'nan was marching over Linirea, he had managed to gather an impressive army. King Denas requested all the ***ailable armies to join the impending war.
几个月前，一位来自王国的使节带来了一些令人不安的消息：卫兹南正在利尼雷亚的领土上前进，他设法聚集了一支令人印象深刻的军队。迪纳斯国王命令所有可用的军队加入即将到来的战争。
Malik knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Hammer hold had to help put a stop to this advance, but truth to be told, their armies were scattered over the map.
马里克知道，重锤要寨毫无疑问有能力帮助制止卫兹南的进展。但说实话,他们的军队分散在地图上，难以集结。
Half of the forces were stationed on the south shores under Blackbeard's command; they had to be swiftly sent there since the pirates from the islands had been increasing the attacks on the seaside villages.
The desert tribes, on the other hand, had been fighting the sc***engers' increasingly violent attacks and requested reinforcements be sent on their aid.
一半的部队驻扎在黑胡子控制下的南部海岸，他们不得不被派到那里，因为临岸岛屿上的海盗们一直在增加对海边村庄的袭击。 另一方面，沙漠部落一直在与拾荒者日益猛烈的攻击作斗争，并要求重锤要寨增援他们。
Messengers were sent to both fronts with orders to put these attacks under control and return to the city as soon as possible, Malik was not going to le***e the villagers to fend for themselves, and besides, King Denas also had a powerful army that could stall or even destroy Vez'nan's army efforts. The thought of Vez'nan taking the citadel was almost absurd.
信使被派往这两条战线，奉命控制住这些袭击，以尽快返回城市，马里克不会离开让村民自食其力。此外，沙王和马里克认为迪纳斯国王拥有一支强大的军队，可以制止甚至破坏卫兹南的军队；还觉得卫兹南占据城堡的想法几乎是荒唐。
It took a few months to crush the pirates and sc***engers' efforts as they seemed to be receiving reinforces from an unknown source, but once it was done, the armies marched back to Hammerhold as fast as they were able, carrying their prisoners with them.
我们花了几个月的时间粉碎了海盗和拾荒者的进攻，敌人似乎正受到不明来历的援助。但一旦完成任务，军队就尽可能快地返回重锤要寨，并带着他们的囚犯。
Orders were sent, troops and supplies gathered, and a plan was forged. Hammerhold was now ready to march in defense of the kingdom when the next sun arose.
命令被发送，部队和物资被集结，并伪造了进攻计划。当下一个太阳升起时，重锤要寨就要加入到保卫王国的战争中去。
On that fateful night, a messenger arrived. One of the soldiers found him wandering the sands as the poor creature had lost his way on the ever-changing dunes of the desert. The scorching sun and water scarcity had almost collected their prize when he was rescued from certain death and brought to the city.
在那个命运攸关的夜晚，一位信使来了。一名士兵发现他游荡在沙地，这为可怜的生物在沙漠中不断变化的沙丘里失去了方向。烈日和缺水几乎带走他的生命，他被救出并被带回城市。
After some rest his weakened voice demanded to talk to the leaders of the bastion, claiming he was in possession of some critical information about the fate of Linirea.
休息了一阵之后，他用虚弱的声音要求与堡垒的领导人交谈，声称他掌握了一些关乎利尼雷亚命运的重要信息。
Alric answered the call and a secret meeting was arranged. Something unthinkable had happened: Vez'nan had conquered most of Linirea, The Citadel has fallen and its king, Denas, vanished.
艾尔利克接了电话并安排了一次秘密会议：一件被觉得不可思议的事情发生了！卫兹南征服了利尼雷亚的大部分地区，王城已经倒下！而国王迪纳斯，消失了。
Malik knew something was wrong as soon as he saw Alric's distressed face. The sand warrior's words struggled to come out as if he did not want to speak them. Vez'nan had played them, the Pirates and Sc***engers had been receiving gold and reinforcements from him, as a means of distraction. The ruse had paid off, and now he was sitting on the palace's throne.
马里克一看到艾尔利克那张痛心的脸，就知道出了什么事情。沙武士的声音挣扎着从他嘴里出来，似乎他不想提及这件事。卫兹南玩弄了他们，海盗和沙漠拾荒者一直在从他那里获得黄金和增援，以此分散重锤要寨的注意力。诡计得到了回报,现在他正坐在皇宫的宝座上。
Attacking the palace by themselves would h***e been a suicidal mission for an army, so it was impeding that the bannermen be called off and new plans created.
攻击宫殿本身对军队来说是一个自杀性任务。因此，旗帜的命名和制定新的计划被阻碍了。
Malik heard the news, and his face turned pale, he stood in silence for what seemed to be an eternity. With a grim voice, he told Alric, "Tell the warriors to close the gates and reinforce the walls, Hammerhold, the kingdom's last bastion, must never fall!"
马里克听到这个消息后脸色苍白，默默地站在那里，等待似乎是永恒的。他用严肃的声音对艾尔利克说：告诉战士们，关上大门、加固城墙。战锤要寨，利尼雷亚王国最后的堡垒，绝不能倒下!