Adam becomes a real adventurer

You tense up as a group of twentieth-level adventurers walk by you, earning a giggle from the warlock beside you at your uncharacteristic nervousness. The area around Broadbridge is teeming with adventurers, and this last mile has been a harrowing experience, reminding you of your old days of waiting around for the next bored "PC"—apparently a synonym for adventurers, as you recently learned—to lop your head off. Your companion has been sure to thoroughly tease you for this sudden shift in roles, with her playing the de facto leader here. A month ago you might've been offended or angry, but now it's actually somewhat endearing.

Suddenly, you're pulled out of your thoughts when the gate of Broadbridge itself looms in front of you. It's reasonably small—maybe 15ft tall at the highest point, and made of roughly hewn wood—but it might as well be the Great Wyrm's lair as far as you're concerned: this is a town, a place that monsters of your level simply don't go. Ari disappears from beside you after you stand there for a moment, then suddenly you feel two hands shove you forwards and you stumble through the gate. You freeze up for a moment then relax: you aren't sure what you expected to happen when you crossed the threshold, but the answer—nothing whatsoever—is almost disappointingly boring.

You look around at the collection of buildings that stretches out before you. Apparently this is a "small" town, but it completely dwarfs your dungeon, with roofs and chimneys poking up as far as the eye can see and dozens of people, both "PCs" and "NPCs," wandering down the streets. Before you have to admit that you have absolutely no idea where you're going, Ari grabs your hand again and pulls you in the direction of a building to the east. It's a large, sturdy-looking structure made of carefully cut grey stone blocks and a wood roof, and bears a hanging sign with a carved torch on it. Writing under the sign announces that this is the Broadbridge Adventurers' Guild.

You step inside to see a dumpy old woman sitting at a plain desk; a cacophony of clashing, chatting, cheering, clapping, and other noises come from a hallway to the east. Before you can open your mouth or look around, she opens her mouth and in an incredibly flat voice says "names?"

"Adam Goblinsbane and Arialle Fairbreeze," your companion answers for you.

"Sorry, you don't appear to be registered." Her voice continues to be utterly monotone, and she doesn't actually seem to consult anything before making that observation.

"Yeah, we just got to this quest hub. What's the membership fee?" You aren't sure what a 'quest hub' is: maybe another word for town? You'll have to remember to ask later.

"1 gold apiece," Ari produces the coins from her inventory. It's a good thing she remembered to bring them: you've just been leaving them in a pile in the dungeon, not really sure what else to do with them. Maybe all the gold you've gotten from adventurers will actually be useful for something, although you don't want to make a regular habit of hanging around in cities: even though nobody has seen through your disguise yet, you can't help but wonder if you're going to turn a corner and get your head chopped off.

"Please wait here." The woman slowly raises herself out of her chair and hobbles off to the back. You make idle chitchat for a few minutes until she returns, carrying two silver badges depicting a stylized BB with your names under them. "You can go in now." The woman goes back to ignoring you.

You step inside to find the guild appears to be split into a few major areas: a number of martial adventurers are sparring in what looks like a training or duelling area, loud conversations and cheers come from a bar, and a few adventurers are huddled around a large wooden board with pieces of parchment nailed to it. Ari tugs you in the direction of the bar, but you stand your ground: you're nervous about being in the middle of so many adventurers. Eventually she turns around with a glare, but after seeing the expression on your face she laughs. "Fine," she pulls you to the board.

Your companion starts reading the notices on the right side while you take the left. Basement full of rats, nope. Fetch a broom, nope. Deliver mail, nope. Slay the Great Wyrm, nope. Reconnaissance in the old wizard's tower, nope, you'd rather not help the enemy spy on you. You start zoning out at the irrelevant requests until you feel a tap on your shoulder. You look over to see Ari pointing at one of the notices near the bottom.

You are invited: Highcastle Summer Ball
Brave ladies and gentlemen of the adventurer's guild, the lady Eleanor Highcastle herself invites you to the Highcastle Summer Ball to celebrate the start of a new season. Food and accommodations complimentary. Only open to adventurers of some repute in the guild.

"Wait, I thought you said this board was used for quests?" The elf shrugs in response.

"Some people use it for RP stuff as well. This seems like an event where RPers go to hang out and some other players go to hook up or just because they're bored. It'll be crowded, which if we're careful will be a great opportunity to steal the gem without getting caught." You, for one, are not looking forward to a crowded party full of 'adventurers of some repute,' but that can wait.

"Well, what does it mean that we need to be 'of some repute?'" Ari shrugs in response and drags you back to the front desk to relay the question to the attendant.

"Well, to become respected within the guild adventurers can do one rank five quest or—" you lose focus as she starts droning off complicated formulas in her incredibly dull voice. Whatever a rank 5 quest is, you'll do one just to spare yourself having to listen to the rest of the spiel. For her part, Ari seems to be listening intently, so this time it's your turn to drag her in the other direction rather than learn what it feels like to die of concentrated boredom. Soon after, you find a quest that looks promising.

Cultists in Broadbridge
Rank 6: Intended for groups of three to five adventurers of levels 15-20
Rumours are spreading of daemonic cultists infiltrating our fair city and perverting its inhabitants. Witnesses have heard strange chants near the Semajian temple at night, but the building was empty when they went inside. Purge these cultists before they summon a great evil or pervert the town!

You certainly aren't three to five adventurers of levels 15-20, but you figure you probably have an upper hand in anything daemonic. In any case, it's probably faster—not to mention less painful—to die, respawn, and come back here rather than trying to figure out whatever the guild attendant was trying to tell you about quest ranks. You show Ari the quest and she raises an eyebrow skeptically. "Come on, it'll be fun. Besides, I hear you know a thing or two about daemons. And wouldn't you rather walk around the town all day rather than crawl around in some mucky dungeon?"

"Fine then, I guess I'll suffer through it if I have to," her smile betrays her tone. "Now, I think I saw some cultists down at the ice cream stand in the market: we should really go investigate that together. Then maybe we can go verify that the park is free of daemonic corruption afterwards." You grin in response to her newfound enthusiasm and allow yourself to be dragged out to 'investigate' various treats and sights of the town while waiting for nightfall.