Standoff

This is a fairly common state of affairs. The merchants don't like thieves, but they are somewhat fatalistic about them. A strong element of pragmatism influences their attitudes. If it loses them less to pay protection money than to suffer the thievery they would otherwise have to tolerate, they will pay up. This is a major difference from the oppositional state, where merchants will actually suffer extra loss rather than connive with thieves.

Merchants in a standoff will do what they can to get by. Unless thievery gets wildly out of hand, they won't get up in arms, and they will pay off thieves, or accept a certain level of theft, as they must.

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