not sure what happened, here's what i know:
i killed the gurgler king in order to settle on fishman island, while going back home i noticed the fish isle town was not empty as i remembered, there were people defending against the fishmen and some things scattered around, i helped kill off the fishmen, took a good quality nodachi from one of the ruins and left (it did not label it as stealing). once i came back the town seemed to flourish, there were empire peasants inside the gate and free traders on the outskirts, i realized i needed building materials so i went in to see if the barman had any, the same barman i had talked to the first time i was there, but now for some reason i was attacked immediately, additionally once i got attacked, free traders came into the town and started to fight alongside me, and they were all killed or captured. my relations with the empire peasants is 0, i have never attacked any of them, and they do not show a red cursor when hoverig over them, UNTIL i step through the gate, which i'd like to note is open and set to public. the only thing i can think of is that nodachi i took, but again it didn't count as stealing, didn't tell me i was committing a crime or give me a bounty and furthermore any of my characters come under attack as soon as they step through, not just the one who took it. i'm at a loss and even in the FCS i cannot figure out why they become hostile, any hints would be much appreciated