In the quest where you have to find and rescue a Zahn engineer, I went to the freelancer outpost, and asked about the contract. The guy asked for 10000 gold, I asked for an alternative solution, but when he asked me to hunt yet another party, I said "I'd rather pay the cash". I got no option to do so, and now I see no way to continue. I still have the task to get the contract, both in the "Renowned fortification builder Saybr" and "Sign a contract with..." quests, but the freelancer leader has only three options: tell his story, sell some mercs, and leave.
By the way, I am not 100% sure what causes it, but I seem to be getting a random Intelligence or Charisma stat point as I do stuff. I doubt it is a bug, but it could probably be displayed in a yellow or red in the log, so that the player does not miss it. (If it already is, and I have missed it, sorry!)