Hunt for a quest.

The four of you stare at the quest board, which is looking rather barren today. Most of the postings still listed either sound much too deadly for your liking, or don't pay nearly enough to be worth it, considering you'll be splitting it up quarterly. You hadn't thought of it much before, since the world feels much like an RPG in many regards, but there are times presumably where there just aren't enough quests to go around. It makes you wonder what it's like in the actual capital, if they have something like this there as well.

"We've been ogling this wall for ten minutes now, Kyle," Eva groans. "Do you think it's going to change?"

"You never know. What if they come out with a stack of new quests?"

It doesn't seem like that's going to be the reality. In addition, other adventurers are here as well. You've never run into the issue of doing a quest someone else is trying to do. That would be bothersome.

As you continue to consider your options, you look over to see a familiar face. It's a human boy with a brown ponytail tied with a band of yellow beads, leather armour, a bow and quiver over his back, and two daggers sheathed at his hip--Thomas Whitham, the human scout your group rescued from the dungeon.

"Hey man," he says with a smile. "What's up? Looking for a quest, I assume."

You nod. "Slim pickings though... You're Thomas, right? The scout?"

"That sounds so formal. Call me Tom. And yeah, I see that. It happens. Why not just spend the day relaxing and check back tomorrow?"

"We were hoping to make some money today. We just spent a bunch of time relaxing, and our pockets are running low already."

He looks deep in thought. With a hand to his chin, he scopes the room, and then leads in close to speak with you more quietly. "I feel like I do still owe you guys for saving my life, so what if I told you I may know of a recently discovered, but barely explored dungeon a couple days away from here?"

"That sounds extremely dangerous."

"Unlike that one I got stuck in, supposedly two scouts have already gone and returned just fine. The estimated difficulty rating is about four or so, but that's mostly because of the unknown factor. Do with this information what you will. You just didn't hear it from me. If someone happened to stumble upon it, that's not my fault."

"I don't know... The last one had a lich."

"All I'm saying is you can dip in, take some stuff, and if it seems too deadly, you can run straight back out. Or you can sit around here all day." He shrugs and slips a scrap of paper into your pocket. "Either way, good luck, man. Be safe. I've got some errands to keep running."

He brings up his fist, and you pound yours against it before walking away. I guess that's a universal gesture.

After his departure, your party looks to you curiously.

Niki crosses her arms. "What was with that sketchy conversation, Kyle?"

You watch Tom as he talks to somebody across the room. Your eyes then return to Niki, and the others, who all seem to be leaning in closer to find out more. You take a step back and bring up your hands to gesture them to chill out.

"We got some info on a potential dungeon," you say quietly, and bring a finger your lips. "But I don't know. It could be dangerous."

Eva leans in. "I've been working super hard. If we can actually clear out a dungeon on our own, our experience will shoot right up."

Niki clenches her fist in excitement. "More power sounds good to me. Dibs on any magic maces, by the way."

Who else would even use one? "All right, all right. Let's just head outside to talk about this at least," you concede.