Cold Comfort

A wisened scribe from the city of Elembria once spoke of an ancient valley sat between two majestic mountains. Through the valley ran the river Mort. Catching the sun it was said to resemble a river of fire to those luckily enough to see it. Dellen puffed out her cheeks.

She had always wondered what lay on the other side of the river, but there was no bridge, and was too fearful of water to swim or take a boat. So when the wizard showed up with promises of magical teleportation, she couldn’t resist the offer.

The wizard tried to warn her of the consequences of using teleportation, but it fell on deaf ears. Before he knew it she was happily teleporting about, until a travelling party came across her. “It’s a witch! Get her!” She vanished — and reappeared on the other side of the river.

Unfortunately she misjudged the riverbank and ended up knee-deep in rotting muck, slowly sinking deeper. “No problem,” she thought, “I’ll just teleport again.” Then the teleportation migraine hit her.

The pain was immeasurable. She struggled, but movement made her nauseated so she stayed still, sinking deeper & deeper. The bog was cold & she hoped at least the chill of it would soothe the migraine when she submerged. It did & that's where we get the phrase "cold comfort".