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.
太陽幾乎在重錘要寨上空落山了。沙王艾爾利克緊張地在宮殿大廳裡走來走去。他在等待馬里克：有一個極其重要的話題讓他不得不與重錘要寨的現任領導人討論。
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.
幾個月前，一位來自王國的使節帶來了一些令人不安的消息：衛茲南正在利尼雷亞的領土上前進，他設法聚集了一支令人印象深刻的軍隊。迪納斯國王命令所有可用的軍隊加入即將到來的戰爭。
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.
馬里克知道，重錘要寨毫無疑問有能力幫助制止衛茲南的進展。但說實話,他們的軍隊分散在地圖上，難以集結。
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.
一半的部隊駐紮在黑鬍子控制下的南部海岸，他們不得不被派到那裡，因為臨岸島嶼上的海盜們一直在增加對海邊村莊的襲擊。 另一方面，沙漠部落一直在與拾荒者日益猛烈的攻擊作鬥爭，並要求重錘要寨增援他們。
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.
信使被派往這兩條戰線，奉命控制住這些襲擊，以儘快返回城市，馬里克不會離開讓村民自食其力。此外，沙王和馬里克認為迪納斯國王擁有一支強大的軍隊，可以制止甚至破壞衛茲南的軍隊；還覺得衛茲南佔據城堡的想法幾乎是荒唐。
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.
我們花了幾個月的時間粉碎了海盜和拾荒者的進攻，敵人似乎正受到不明來歷的援助。但一旦完成任務，軍隊就儘可能快地返回重錘要寨，並帶著他們的囚犯。
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.
命令被髮送，部隊和物資被集結，並偽造了進攻計劃。當下一個太陽昇起時，重錘要寨就要加入到保衛王國的戰爭中去。
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.
在那個命運攸關的夜晚，一位信使來了。一名士兵發現他遊蕩在沙地，這為可憐的生物在沙漠中不斷變化的沙丘裡失去了方向。烈日和缺水幾乎帶走他的生命，他被救出並被帶回城市。
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.
休息了一陣之後，他用虛弱的聲音要求與堡壘的領導人交談，聲稱他掌握了一些關乎利尼雷亞命運的重要信息。
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.
艾爾利克接了電話並安排了一次秘密會議：一件被覺得不可思議的事情發生了！衛茲南征服了利尼雷亞的大部分地區，王城已經倒下！而國王迪納斯，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.
馬里克一看到艾爾利克那張痛心的臉，就知道出了什麼事情。沙武士的聲音掙扎著從他嘴裡出來，似乎他不想提及這件事。衛茲南玩弄了他們，海盜和沙漠拾荒者一直在從他那裡獲得黃金和增援，以此分散重錘要寨的注意力。詭計得到了回報,現在他正坐在皇宮的寶座上。
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.
攻擊宮殿本身對軍隊來說是一個自殺性任務。因此，旗幟的命名和制定新的計劃被阻礙了。
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!"
馬里克聽到這個消息後臉色蒼白，默默地站在那裡，等待似乎是永恆的。他用嚴肅的聲音對艾爾利克說：告訴戰士們，關上大門、加固城牆。戰錘要寨，利尼雷亞王國最後的堡壘，絕不能倒下!