Myrobalan, a desert child,
whose feet had never tasted snow,
one Haring morning woke up blue
from top of head to tip of toe.
His rattling teeth, they shook the walls.
Ice shaped his hair like anime.
And when he tried to etch a glyph,
by shivering hands was he betrayed.
Believing that all might be lost,
feeling his blood freeze in his veins,
Myr fought through pain to reach his door
so friends might find his cold remains.
But on his threshold, poised to knock
was the elf's cousin, Vandelin,
who took one look at Myr's blue nose
and used both hands to drag him in.
(A necessary note to make:
Van was no warmer than our Myr,
except that he was wearing more,
hiding his thin legs out of fear.)
Their warmth thus shared, the cousins walked,
with awkward tiny baby steps,
first down the hall, then down the stairs,
and straight into Simon's biceps.
The Templar did not have to ask.
He wrapped both elves in massive arms.
Their feet were lifted off the ground
as Simon shouted an alarm:
"Myrobalan," Ser Ashlock cried,
"whom we all love, will surely freeze,
if all do not come to his aid.
Ignore my pleas, you'll face the bees!"
So spurred by love, or fear of stings,
the Gallows answered Simon's call;
if any lacked in love for Myr,
they also lacked in wherewithal
to face the bees or Templar's wrath
—or else were feeling cold themselves.
So quickly filled the corridor,
some of the elves were placed on shelves.
All three dwarva the Gallows housed
saw quickly to the elf's bare feet
and Beleth's passionate defense
of elven customs gave off heat.
(Another note: that is a joke.
The hidden punchline is hot air.)
The bodies pressed into the hall,
hands reaching out to touch his skin.
Forget Corypheus or Blight.
This was a battle they could win.
The minutes passed. The air warmed up.
The hall began to verge on stuffy.
"Eez he warm yet?" someone asked,
Orlesian and a little huffy.
The elf himself gave no reply,
so Van and Simon squirmed to check,
elbowing huggers on their way
to move his face from Simon's pecs—
and then a cry, an awful sound,
his cousin choking on his grief:
"In all our haste to keep him warm,
we didn't check if he could breathe."