Genevieve grumbled softly as she looked in Regina's direction. As the hin attempted to enter her mind, the woman would've snapped back, with a loud roar of a voice that only Regina could hear. "You did this once before, never do it again!"

"You know,you could just ask who she was rather than invading her mind." The knight spoke up.

Genevieve sighed and closed her eyes, attempting to regain her composure. "Her name is Isabeau Falkenrath. Her mother was descendant of a high witch, the leader of one of the deadliest clans of this realm. I call her a 'witchling' as she is only half, her father was human. The clan had her father killed, and her mother died not too long after giving birth to the wench. When her abilities had not manifested the way the high witch had hoped, she was traded off and raised by a guild of assassins. She was part of the group that had helped Waeldeshore 25 years ago, and from then, the rest is history."

She paused a moment in thought. "For years, she has ... eluded me, but I managed to track her here. My sources say that she is working with the Maji. Of course it would be best if the guild was taken out, but my sources also tell me that there is so much corruption within their ranks, they're doing very well with thinning out their own numbers without anyone else's help. Once I'm able to acquire the keys, they will be no threat."

"I do not know much about them, however, I can tell you this. The order is well known in the western world for being one of the single most reliable and powerful institutions of magic. The fortress itself is thousands of years old, said to have been made by an archmage of the ancient days. The structure itself is made from a combination of pure runes and hardened obsidian, and is the approximate size of a small city.”

“The order was originally created 800 years ago by the archmage Sevria Tarvanox, considered to be one of the greatest human users of magic in history, if not the greatest. Her success came from a discipline, she said, taught to her by an old mage in her early childhood. She dismantled the old line of Runic Magi. Runic mages had long been considered the world's most powerful mages; but Sevria proved that the "Weave", a more pure form of magic, was not only more powerful than runes, it was easier to use and safer. Naturally, the Runic mages didn't like their works being taken apart; but every time they attempted to take her out she became stronger and undermined Runic authority. Eventually, she lead an army of "free" mages to destroy the Vlantian Estate, which was the headquarters of the mages. The defeat caused the Runic magi to scatter and lose all unity; few were ever seen again. Those who were ended up dead after evidence arose that Runic magic had demonic roots.”

“She assumed control of the castle the magi are based in today and steadily recruited followers, over the years laying roots. Someone else holds the mantle, but for over a century now, the Magi have developed a reputation of having professional mages, being completely neutral, and having little inclination to interfere in world affairs. Over the past 20 years, the magi have become much more secretive and have begun to withdraw followers from various parts of the world to vanish into the castle they are based in.”

“During my search for my missing artifact, I was able to track it to their hold, however, upon doing my own search I wasn't able to find it. I believe they are either hiding it under a cloaking spell or …” She taps her chin gently in thought, “Isabeau can cloak herself in shadows, if she was able to tap into her ability, she could have accessed the shadow realm. Which is essentially a mirror of this realm. They could be hiding it there. I have maps that will direct you to where the artifact should be. I will give you all the information that I have to further aid you in this quest; details of their stronghold, demons that infest the area in question …”

A cough or two slipped out. Her voice started getting hoarse at this point. She cleared her throat and continued. “All that I am asking for is for you to return what is rightfully mine, how you go about it is your choice. I believe the magi will try their luck at acquiring the second and third key. If they manage to get all three, well, you can count yourself among the dead if that happens. What Isabeau’s plans are, I'm not quite sure how far she is in with the magi or what her plans are other than keeping that key from me. For your efforts and time, I will compensate you with coin. Fifty thousand each. I hope that will suffice. If you do choose, or if you're able to slay any of the magi, I will pay you an extra twenty five thousand for each head you bring me. Does that sound fair? Are there any other questions?”