right, here's my thought
[hider=My Thought]
[u]Bandit sighted[/u] 
i imagine the city guard can protect the city and some of the surrounding area but not much else, so when a bunch of bandits are in an area away from the city the guard does't have the manpower to send out a unit to hunt them, so the City Guard(they basically task Marco with this) would put up a bounty for them and anyone wanting to help would report to him. they form a party(lead by Marco) to act on behalf of the guard and hunt them.
(this was basically my idea for why Marco would leave town)

[u]Patrol[/u]
this is similar, a party formed to help patrol an area, but random events would happen along the way(determined by you or depending on the route)
[/hider]
also, by Quest board i mean like other people could post quests, it would be that someone can go to Zane with a quest missive and he would put it up on the board.

(also, congrats)
I'm going to go to sleep here, Goodnight, hugs, kisses, talk to you later...