A poesy sequel to Lord Dunsany’s The Hoard of the Gibbelins

Granite-bound three days Alderic hanged
Adorning the tower walls like a stricken standard   
Until a Gibbelin sideways approached the man
And Alderic cried “Pray Gibbelin, say how I have angered

And yet not dead? For I have saddled dragons
And swum the river that this world girdles
I have picked apart your dungeons deep -
To burglarise have I passed these hurdles 

And yet not dead, but captive, tormented 
Alderic the Hero, Conqueror, Dueller 
I may yet essay an escape so slay me now
Or pray, good Gibbelin, let me plead with your ruler.”

Fetters unlocked, Alderic crumpled floorward
And Gibbelins thronged to arrest his descent 
Unchained he flagged but his mind soared
His body was broken but his spirit unbent 

As on a wave Alderic turned flotsam 
Was swept on, and by Gibbelins held aloft 
Though individual specimens he espied
It was upon a Gibbelin sea that Alderic tossed.

They swelled as one though the tower’s maze
Past vaults of emeralds, with doors of jade 
Granite stonework framed sapphire hoards 
And Alderic marvelled at the craft displayed.

Finally washed up in a cavernous hall 
With circular trestles radiating out  
And upon the rock of a central stand
Alderic clung as Gibbelins churned about

No Lord stepped forward, no King grown fat
Nor Gibbelin distinct from any other
Yet one did speak from among the throng 
His speech supplemented by another

They all soon spoke though their words differed
They held and wove the selfsame thread 
The meaning spun was gossamer light
Yet it fell on Alderic and filled him with dread

For among the Gibbelins none dissented
The voices all struck a similar chord
They worked as one to better all
None were lesser within the horde
 
Once they were fractured clans and tribes
And like knolls smoked out of their cave
Were easily dispatched in stinking heaps
By human heroes bold and brave 

But discovering marks they scratched a system
And drew together and built the tower
And mined and filled its base with gems
And lured foolish humans with its power

They took their victims with fairy tales
Counting man’s greed most influential
The Gibbelins churned and chanted faster
Their excitement exponential

And Alderic felt the room grow warm
And his heart and head grew hot
And he demanded the Gibbelins release him now
Unaware he stood on the lid of the pot.