What their intention is isn't really that relevant (IMO) when you are told in character to go there immediately (or it could threaten your life/sanity). It's really silly that we have to metagame (go out of character) to realize we need to level up. I think this is simply bad writing for an RPG... There should be a level check on when you get that quest, and she should point you towards quests that would help you level up. (And BTW, I had totally missed the entire tavern ;))
