Eric's assessment is correct.
Further info is that for the sake of the newbies, we of the Inner Circle
did unilaterally declare provinces db78-dg79 to be a free zone, in which
travel and resource gathering (but not the use of trade goods) was
unrestricted for all nobles. I remembered keenly the intimidation I felt
in g1, when I had to ask for permission from all sorts of local rulers just
to pick up basic skills like mining and beastmastery, and I wanted to
prevent that experience for other new players.
We challenged the LoC to come up with a similar zone that would allow
newbies to travel to Azrain and Oriana (dh74-77), but they declined to do
so. They were not required to do so under the treaty, but we thought it
would have been an awfully nice gesture...
That is the past history of the situation. The Inner Circle will issue a
position on the current dispute once we have heard from both sides and
discussed the matter amongst ourselves.
The Illustrated Man