Broken

Chapter 70

Prangarrel set sympathetic eyes upon me. "There are many ways for a necromancer to raise an army, but aside from locating a particularly powerful corpse, raising strong fighters requires some time and effort." he shook his head sadly. "The curse is used to prepare the body for the queen's unique style of resurrection; allowing her to summon much stronger minions from bodies that normally would've only given her the average fare."

"Why does that make me feel like some sort of fine delicacy?" I grunted- displeased- even if I wasn't entirely surprised.

Prangarrel- also a victim of this curse- snorted and let out a quiet, animal-like growl. "To one such as that monster, we may as well be nothing but a meal upon her plate." He sighed, looking us all over one by one. "Well, you have performed your roles in giving my brethren at least a little rest; and you have listened to my tale. Now it is time to tell you all I've learned in regards to the Queen and her daughters; steeped in madness as they are."

Finally, the half of our party that had started to zone out jerked back to attention. People like Argus and the twins might not be found of listening to explanations, but even they were smart enough not to ignore potentially vital intel on up-and-coming fights.

"Lets see, where to start?" mused our campfire host, using a curved claw to scratch behind an ear. How could a death knight look cute? I have clearly spent far too much time in instances for my own good at this point. "I suppose we can start in reverse order. Yes, that may be for the best."

Prangarrel seemed to be gathering his thoughts, and I exchanged glances with the other strike team members. Most looked someplace between marginally interested, to intrigued. Eager to hear ways in which we might take on the boss fights before us. I supposed I'd probably fit into that category as well. However, Argus, Aiden and our porter seemed more interested in eating their rations, only paying partial attention.

Did nothing faze these people? Also, clearly my guildmates were actively being a bad influence on poor John, who probably was starting to think their attitudes were just par-for-the-course at this point.

"The youngest daughter in this sham of a 'kingdom' would be the princess Agatha." Prangarrel spoke at last, snapping the three whispering snackers back to attention. We had already defeated this mid-boss, and it looked like Nick was about to say as much, but a look from Carson had the rouge closing his mouth. Even if we had defeated the banshee, Prangarrel still might tell us some relevant information though his descriptions that could help us with the other bosses.

"From what I have been told, she was quite immature for her age, and spoiled by her mother. Not that the Queen had the type of love one might find typical for a parent; and I am sure that twisted affection of hers played a great part in the madness that engulphed this whole family." the death knight continued. "Agatha is, perhaps, the most fearful of the bunch. She is much weaker than the rest of the royals, frail in both body and mind, and so is constantly worried about being harmed. This abundance of caution means that she typically hides herself until her minions whittle down any enemies.

She's adept at summoning magics, and takes great pleasure in calling forth swarms of monsters to do with as she would. Many a Climber has met their end at the waves of snakes and wraiths at Agatha's command, ever before catching a glimpse of the princess herself." The fire crackled as we listened to information that we- mostly- already knew, but none of us interrupted.

"As fearful as the youngest princess is, she is also brazen and overconfident as well. She will try to take you down with numbers, and probably mock you as you struggle against the hoards. But, once cornered, her true personality shines though: a scared and cowardly little child. Her true strength lies in the location that she chooses to keep herself, as well as in her hidden trump card."