Swamped

Maybe it's best to play it safe. You've got some other stuff to take care of and if you keep an eye on this conversation as you work on that, maybe you can step in when it ends. Or find the ice on your own, if it even matters.

The thing that's weighing on you the most right now is the staff. And who better to ask about a wizard's staff than a wizard.

In fact, it might be best to show it to him, to avoid being overheard. But if you just take it out of the storage room, the Bogknights might see it, or the desert-dweller if your theory is correct. You're going to need some way to hide it. Grabbing the sheets off a spare bed, maybe?

No, that would draw too much attention. You're probably being watched by more than a few suspicious eyes already. Best if you can do this entirely inside the storeroom.

So you walk in, and make a show of chasing the lizard out. You don't want to take the chance that it can alert someone to what you're doing. Of course, anyone who was watching you is focused on the storeroom now, so you've really got to play this carefully.

But the mess the lizard made is also a pretty good excuse to carry a mop around. Should make a good disguise for the staff. You quickly find a mop and bucket, and the bucket's even filled up.

Perfect. You pull the head off the mop and put it over the crook of the staff. Time to do a little cleaning. You stash the handle of the mop behind a shelf, and head out, wiping up the lizard's trail.

After a little bit, you make your way over to the wizard's bed.

"No luck yet," you say. "But I found something interesting. Anything you notice about it?"

You very carefully turn your mop around and uncover the head.

"You just found that?" he asks, incredulously. "It's not the sort of thing someone usually leaves lying around."

"That's what I figured. I'm wondering if there's anything, you know, special about it. Aside from the obvious."

He frowns.

"I have a guess but I'd need to examine it more closely. Leave it here, and deal with the eavesdropper. I should have something figured out by the time you get back."

"All right," you sigh, handing him the mop. "By the way, you wouldn't happen to know anything about any ice, would you?"

His response to you is a little strange.