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2 months after we made official contact with the Riversong village to initiate trade, we were introduced to 2 other villages that they were friendly with, the Wisperwind, and Fangfall villages.
At first, the 2 villages were standoffish and suspicious of the expedition, thinking that we were forcing the Riversong village to introduce them under duress, but after some time of convincing and vouching for the expedition, they accepted and joined in the trading of goods and services, and the main goods and service that the expedition provided beast material and culling of said beast.
With the beast population in the area culled, the villages could safely expand their farms, which meant more food to trade and an overall easing of worries if they would have enough for the coming winter.
Eventually, as the supply of beasts' byproducts like furs, hides, fangs, and claws sharply increased, villages near the Riversong, Wisperwind, and Fangfall started noticing the large amounts of said byproducts being brought in by Riversong, Wisperwind, and Fangfall barterers, so they sent their own barterers to those villages to see what was the cause of this sudden increase in supply.
What they found when they reached the 3 villages, were farmlands that were greatly expanded from what they could remember, renovations being done to expand and improve the villages, groups of people dismantling freshly hunted prey, and lastly, big burly warriors who were not dressed in the style or colors of any of the villages they had ever seen.
When the barterers asked the locals who these men were, they were informed that these men were warriors from small villages that stretched from their village all the way to the long abandoned northern coast. This information shocked the barterers as they fished for more information and were told of these new men's physical prowess and bravery enabling them to take down large beasts that would usually force them to retreat and hide behind their walls.
As the barterers stayed for a few days to ply their trade, they observed these big warriors from beyond their borders. They observed day after day as these big warriors went on patrol, took down beasts and animals who intruded on the farmland, and brought back ferocious beasts on their own or in small groups.
There were even cases that these foreign warriors had to return to the village to request carts in order to bring back truly huge beasts and sometimes even monsters.
Once these barterers returned back to their villages, word spread of these foreign warriors and their association with the 3 villages.
While the tribes surrounding the 3 villages did not think much about it and were even happy about it due to the increase in the availability of new resources, the larger and more powerful villages further inland were not of the same mind.
To them, frontier villages like the Riversong, Wisperwind, and Fangfall villages functioned like a barrier against most of the really dangerous beasts and monsters that lived in the abandoned north.
These barrier villages were never meant to prosper with all the hostile wildlife knocking at their gates and will be forced to trade with the further inland villages at a disadvantage.
But with the appearance of these foreign warriors, these villages were quickly becoming self-sufficient, prosperous even, and that could not stand, the status quo must be maintained.
To that end, the larger villages had a secret meeting and agreed on a course of action. The Riversong, Wisperwind, and Fangfall villages were to be humbled and the outsiders expelled from their lands.
***
Things started off small. Barterers from other villages would slowly stop showing up and anyone from the Riversong, Wisperwind, and Fangfall villages would be turned away at the gates of other tribes without any reason given.
It took a while, but through some of the villages' warriors meeting their extended family living in other villages, the 3 villages found out why they were slowly being shunned by the surrounding villages.
Turns out the Swiftwind, Blazebringer, Stoneclad, and Greatlake villages did not take kindly to these foreigners in their lands and will shun the 3 villages until the foreigners are expelled from their lands.
Naturally, word of this got around to the 3 villages and the 3 village chiefs called for a meeting.
***
In a dimly lit hut in the Riversong village, three village chiefs sat with grim faces. The air is thick with tension as they gather around a wooden table, their faces reflecting the weight of the decision they must make.
Jorah Riversong sighed heavily and started, "Brothers, the situation has grown dire. Our ties with the foreigners have brought us prosperity and aid in times of need. Yet, the whispers from neighboring villages grow louder each passing day, urging us to sever these ties."
Kadesh Wisperwind, village chief of the Wisperwind village, nodded solemnly, "Indeed, Jorah. The power dynamics in our region have shifted. Ever since the foreigners arrived, we did not need to trade our goods for food at a disadvantage. They claim that our reliance on foreign aid weakens our independence and threatens our sovereignty, but are they not the ones weakening us?"
Douha Fangfall, village chief of the Fangfall village furrows his brow thoughtfully, "But can we afford to anger the 4 biggest villages? If they send warriors here to chase the foreigners out, we will be caught in the crossfire."
Jorah gazed out of the hut's small window, deep in contemplation, "True, Douha. We are in a precarious position, the foreigners are not only physically stronger than us, but they have more warriors than the 3 of us combined, and if the 4 biggest villages send men to fight, we are as good as dead. Our survival may depend on our ability to navigate these treacherous waters."
Kadesh drummed fingers on the table, his expression troubled, "But what of our loyalty to those who have stood by us in times of need? Are we to cast aside their friendship at the behest of more powerful voices? What have the Swiftwind, Blazebringer, Stoneclad, and Greatlake villages done for us lately?"
Douha nods slowly, "Loyalty is indeed a precious virtue, but so too is pragmatism. If breaking off contact with the foreigners ensures the safety and stability of our villages, then perhaps it is a sacrifice we must be willing to make."
Jorah stood up, his voice firm, "Brothers, the path ahead is fraught with uncertainty, but we must act cautiously. Let us convene with our elders and weigh the consequences of our decision. But whatever the outcome, we must at least be on amicable terms with the foreigners, they are currently our neighbors after all. We will meet again to discuss our decision in 3 days."
The three chiefs exchanged determined looks before exiting the hut and went home with heavy decisions on their minds.
***
When the 3 village chiefs met again, they all roughly came to the same decision, they would break the news of their shunning by the other villages to the foreigners and see how they react and go from there.
So they flagged down 1 of the returning foreigner hunting groups and asked to meet their Chieften who had left the Riversong village to handle other matters.
After a few days, Chieftain Dhun showed up and was invited to a hut where the 3 village chiefs were.
After getting the greeting out of the way and wetting his lips with a drink, Chieftain Dhun asked, "So, what have you called me to discuss?"
Jorah cleared his throat, his voice tinged with uncertainty, "Chieftain Dhun, we have come to express our concerns regarding our relationship with your people."
Chieftain Dhun raised an eyebrow, his gaze steady, "Concerns, you say? Have any of my men caused trouble? Tell me who and I will personally take care of it."
Kadesh raised his hands in placatingly, "No, nothing of the sort, the issue is, while we are grateful for the support and aid your people have provided for our village, we find ourselves facing mounting pressure from neighboring villages to sever our ties with your people."
After Kadesh said that and seeing the confusion on Dhun's face, Jorah and the other 2 chiefs took some time explaining the local politics at play.
Dhun nodded understandingly, "Ah, I see. Now that your villages are prospering, they want to keep you down. But fear not, my friends. I assure you that as long as you trade with us on friendly terms, we will not abandon you, nor would we be angered should you decide to cut ties with us. But if you stick with us, I am sure we can support you until your villages are big enough to stand up to them."
Douha frowned, still uncertain, "But what of the consequences? If we defy them, we risk isolation and conflict. Can we truly afford to disregard their threats?
Dhun slammed his hand on the table, "Rest assured that you are not alone in this. My people stand firmly by your side, ready to fight off these petty threats if they dare commit to it."
Jorah nodded to Dhun and said, "Thank you for your reassurance, me and my fellow chiefs have much to discuss. We will let you know of our decision soon."
In reality, there was not much of a decision to make. While the 4 bigger villages only gave them threats, the foreigners helped them with security, food, and trade of new goods from the abandoned north and beyond, and besides, 1 of the foreigners' strongest witch doctors, Grud, had taken 2 of their women as wives, that had to count for something, hopefully they could call upon him for aid in times of need.
***
A few weeks went by after the 4 bigger villages made their displeasure known, and nothing changed.
It angered them that their word was taken so lightly and started spreading rumors that the Riversong, Wisperwind, and Fangfall villages were traitors of their people, and the expedition was a bunch of invading savages.
At first, the 4 big villages decided to wait and let winter discipline the 3 villages, not expecting the so-called "invading savages" to lift a finger to help, but Chieften Dhun was good to his word as trade continued and food flowed into the 3 villages.
When spring arrived and scouts from the 4 big villages went to see what had become of the 3 villages, what they saw was not malnourished people on the verge of death, but well-fed people going about their day in thick furs.
When this was reported back, things escalated. Beasts that would usually leave them alone started attacking the expedition and the 3 villages, hunting traps that nobody knew about were set in places where the expedition usually walked, and warriors that had no village marking started aggressively hunting on the 3 villages' turf.
It did not take a genius to know something fishy was going on, so it was agreed that every expedition hunting party would take along a village warrior to see what was up.
Within a few days, some of the warrior attachments reported seeing and recognizing these unknown warriors hunting in their turf, they were identified as the sons of famous warriors from the 4 big villages.
After seeing who they now knew were warriors from the 4 big villages and calling them out when they were spotted, they dropped all pretenses and straight up started harassing them.
The men from the expedition were later briefed on who their harassers were and to not attack them in case they used that as a casus belli.
This harassment went on for years and after a while of observing their harassers, the hunters from the expedition found their attempts to outhunt them amusing, but all that changed 1 day when one of the hunters that were being harassed threw back an insult that questioned the warrior's parentage.
This angered the young warrior and shot an arrow at the hunter. The hunter dodged out of the way and threw his spear in return. That spear embedded itself in the center of the young warrior's chest and fell over dead.
After that, both groups engaged in combat which resulted in the deaths of all the warriors except 1 who got away.
From that point, a blood feud was started and the drums of war started beating.