A little hint:
If you remember your conversation with her, there were three options on where to start your search. One was to find Ployer, another to track down the friend (you did that already), and the third was to find the wizards behind this (by going to the government district to ask about them). You did the second thing (and found out he died), so before you rush off to do the first, you might want to do the third thing. Of course, you could just rush off to do the first thing (and end the quest), but the third thing gives you, without spoiling, options...
