There is something that is common throughout the continent and that I believe is the annoyingness of haggling with formation merchants. Every city that I have gone to and every merchant that I talk to makes me wish that I could strangle them. It is especially annoying when you rely on skills to pay for stuff.

As for with whom am I bargaining, that would be one of the merchants that are smuggling their goods outside the city. A formation merchant to be precise. (Hence the reason I am so frustrated.) The only reason that I want to work with the bastard is the fact that I need cells immediately.

Formations cells are miniature formations that can temporarily take over the function of the propulsion formation. It is just enough to replace the propulsion formation for a day or so. I don't know if it will work in my case, but better to have it I say. It is not like I have anything else to keep me busy anyways.

Anyways talking to him, I finally understand the state of the castle. The mayfire castle has been acting as something of a final bastion to the people of this region.

Most of the people here are grain traders as you can guess, mostly bought from the farmers that call the surrounding region their own. The mayfires actually make their money by providing protection to the merchants and the villagers that call this location their home. Due to this they are something of a trade hub in our surroundings.

With the disappearance of the mayfires most of the merchants were thrown in for a loop. Thankfully, the organisation seems to have taken in most of these merchants and is slowly smuggling them out of the city. They can't take everybody out at once for obvious reasons, so most of the merchants are hiding down here, with most of their precious wares.

Anyways, the reason I was blathering so much was due to the fact that with any decently sized settlement you shall always find a formation merchant. They tend to be greedy buggers that make their money by selling things that people need to stay alive.

And that brings me back to the man in front of me, who has been talking so much that my thoughts had begun to wander around everything but what he is saying.

He is a middle aged man, whose hair has begun to grey recently and he has a potbelly that I think I have only seen with formation merchants. It is a hard trade though. Formation merchants are mainly needed in outposts and settlements which frankly put are not the best places to live. The man has been very careful in making sure that I do not know his name. That makes me wonder if he has a bounty on him or something. Merchants are the folks that can most likely end up with a bounty after bandits.

"...hiring guards has also become so costly nowadays. We used to hire them from the farmers, though even that has become very hard due to the grain merchants. The bastards charge such low rates for everything that most farmers end up starving. Starving farmers dont make for good guards.", he speaks on.

"Well, all of that is fine, but you have yet to answer my question. Do you have a cell.", I interrupt the man.

"I do have cells, my friend. Though I can't give it to you for free now, can I. That would cause me quite the bit of losses." He replies.

"I am a formation mage and I will be able to repair any damaged goods that you have.", I reply. We have been arguing on the same point for quite a bit of time. The man is simply not ready to accept that I am a formation mage. I don't look that young no?

"Well, as I have already told you. I have no need for a formation mage messing with my goods. I already sell products of the highest quality. If people got to know what do you think would happen to my reputation.", he speaks, his reaction so dramatic that I am left wondering why he didn't become an actor. Well, they would have kicked him out of the guild for overacting.

"They would rather respect the fact that the man sells his products at the highest quality and actually works to maintain his quality.", I reply. That finally seems to shut up the man, though he has shut up like that at least four times by now.

"I will think about it, kid. Too bad you do not have only five class seven mana stones. They would have been useful. Even buying grain has become so hard now.", he begins speaking, ready to enter into another speech about the difficulty of getting food in this market. This is his third time speaking about that. He won't stop now. For a formation merchant the man is just a bit too obsessed with the grain market.

"If you want to trade with the grain merchants, isn't now the best time." I speak, cutting him of. "Most of their carts must have environmental formations. Otherwise I cannot imagine why they would dare to bring in wares into the sewer. Rotting food would be bad for business."

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"Well, that is true. I made quite a bit of killing on that, but they already have the formations.", he replied. "It is not like they want to buy a new one, even if their previous formation is not as effective as they expected it to be."

"Well, the formations must be running at full force for the last three weeks. I have to assume then that some of the formations must already be showing some issues.", I ask him.

"Well, that is the truth. It has been causing quite the damage to my reputation too. Almost everyday they come and start another argument with me about their formations.", he replies.

"Then you have a person that can repair your formations for you. You just point me at the people that need their formations repaired and I will repair it for you. All you need to give me in payment are three cells.", I speak. "It is quite a bargain don't you think. You are lucky that I need a cell urgently or I wouldn't have worked for so cheap for you."

Right now cells would be priced quite dirt cheap since there are no ships to make use of them and the one group of people that could, are more likely to murder the merchant and take everything he owns rather than pay for it.

"Well, you talk big but how can I tell that you will actually be able to repair the formations. If you were to mess anything up, it is my reputation that would be dragged in the mud.", the man in front of me replies. "They already seem ready to stone me to death."

"Well, test me then. If I don't work out, business isn't exactly lining up for you anyways.", I reply, wondering if the man would have bothered to ask the same thing of my master.

(After a couple of days.)

I am seriously bored out of my mind. Repairing carts is not exactly the hardest of works that I have ever done and honestly, I have seriously underestimated just how crappy and simple these formations are.

Well, at the moment I am resisting the urge to kill the man in front of me. I can think about killing him after he gives me those cells.

"Well, I am surprised at your skill. Those formations are as good as new. Here are your cells. You have repaired ten different carts in the last couple of days, which I think should be enough for two cells don't you think." He speaks.

"you old man, Three of those formation I had to build from the scratch up. Give a little something extra", I reply.

"That might be the case, but you have caught me at a point when I am quite low on my wares. I had to leave most of my formations in the shop. The bloodfire gang came after my shop almost immediately after the barrier broke. Most of what I have are related to preservation. You are lucky that I brought the cells with me.", he speaks, throwing what looks like a couple of rocks at me. With a touch I can tell that these are cells of pretty high quality. I don't want to admit it but I might just have lucked out in this deal.

"Well, there must be something that you can give.", I ask. Well there is no problem in asking just a little more. You never know what you might end up getting.

"Well, I would have to assume that you have a ship stranded somewhere outside, since you want cells.", he asks. "If that is the case I might have something for you."

"Well, something like that.", I reply. Better to be non committal. You never know what might happen with merchants. The bastards are just as likely to sell me out to the bloodfire gang if the situation calls for it.

"When I had to leave the shop I had to leave behind a grimoire of mine. It contains all of the formations that I have ever managed to discover contained in it.", he speaks. "When I had to leave the shop, I had to leave it behind. If you were to get it back for me, I will provide you the schematics to a class nine camouflage formation and one more cell. How does that sound."

"A camouflage formation, of which element.", I ask. The best element for such a task is light, followed by water and wind.

"It is of the light element. I was quite lucky to get it. I had to trade a class eight preservation formation to even get it. You know how rare it is for preservation formations to have a class and The camouflage formation itself is of the ninth class. The preservation formation is almost an environment formation if you tweak it a bit at that class.", he begins to speak.

"all that is fine, what is the catch to this.", I ask. Nobody gives a camouflage formation for simple tasks. "You certainly do not have a giving spirit."

"Well, the person that raided my shop was a captain of the bloodheart gang. He is a bloody bastard called "heart burner Steve". He continued, looking at my confusion. "He is the bastard that burns the heart of his victims. The demon worshipper."

"So I have to get the book to you and I will get the formation, nothing else. Nothing like fighting this Steve or killing him.", I ask. Better to always make sure I say. Though, I am sure my final plan might just involve fighting this Steve.

"Yes, I have no desire to be chased by the bloodfire gang.", he replies. "Just get me my grimoire back and that will be enough for me."

"Okay, I will try to get your grimoire. I want a proper explanation of the formation you are about to give me.", I speak, as the merchants finally becomes jubilant. Seeing this I wonder for a second, if I had been scammed into accepting this. Somehow I get the feeling that I have been played.

Seeing that the other side is a formation merchant that is most likely what is happening here. Well, that is the nature of our work.

While I have been doing all of this, Trevor has essentially disappeared. He is presently in the castle working to prepare for the heist. Until he comes back I have to figure out the formation issue as quickly as possible.

I have a feeling that I do not want to stay here for more time than necessary. The situation down in the sewers is quite stable, but I can't let go of this sense of unease that I feel.