Swamped

You wonder if there's a particular reason why this spy tried to come in here. If, perhaps, they're after the ring you found.

And you've got an excuse for bringing it up.

"By the way, Director. I found something weird a little while ago." You put a hand on your pouch for good measure.

Yvonne looks a little exasperated.

"Can this wait?"

"Oh, well, I just wanted to make sure it didn't slip my mind," you say. "I was thinking Dominique might have some idea about it."

No reaction from the prisoner. But then, she probably doesn't know who Dominique is.

"What, you think it's something magical? That would be high priority, if it's something that isn't where it's supposed to be."

Fortunately, Yvonne brought up magic for you. And the prisoner definitely reacted. They caught themselves, but you couldn't help but notice their eyes turning to your pouch.

"Wait, you mean you've got magical items just lying around here?"

"No, we have a small number of magical devices and uncovered artifacts that we keep in secure places. Which is why it would be particularly concerning if something went missing, especially if it were unreported."

"When you say devices..."

"Specialized measuring devices, mainly. Most of the ones we've developed don't use ether, but there are some things that are hard to do without it."

"So... what, rulers or barometers or that sort of thing, only magic? Not, like, magic wands or rings or whatever."

The prisoner definitely seemed to perk up for a moment on "rings".

"You've got more or less the right idea, yeah. We don't really go for that shiny stuff. Did you find something like that?"

Hmm. What's the best way to answer, given that the prisoner is watching?