Good to hear about the "vial" quest!
It isn't a pitty that you can't upgrade your mage class.. Think about how complex the character is already. Not only that, but you can play the game with various different class structures that provide different experiences.
For instance it sounds as if you have a strong Celestial Magic spell casting with good arcane casting (and likely mediocre melee ability). Next time consider a melee based character.. (perhaps dual-weild, or Ninjitsu, or Crushing Blow, based character).
The REAL pitty part about the game is that it doesn't warn you just how convoluted selecting your class structure can be (..and what you will miss out on by selecting one "path" versus another). (I'm contemplating writing a detailed *coherent* article on this aspect.)
Anyway - good luck with the rest of the game!
Note that the "Bargain" is not in the vale of ruins.. but instead in the northlands #5:
http://www.gamebanshee.com/dungeonlo...thoverview.php
There is of course *also* the Druid Temple in the vale of ruins (north center) #4:
http://www.gamebanshee.com/dungeonlo...leoverview.php