>4) How do you raid someone far away without fighting every clan
>between you and them.
>
>Negotiate with everyone in between, or try to sneak past them.
Or simply push your way through. I'd imagine that if a group of armed and dangerous-looking men came onto the tula, but assured you they were just passing through and meant no harm to your clan, there wouldn't necessarily be a fight. Things would be very tense but polite, everybody's hands would stay a few centimetres away from their weapons, and the local fyrd would follow a few paces behind the raiders until they were safely off their land.
Of course when the raiders are returning, wounded, short a few men, and leading a herd of cows, they may not get quite such an easy passage... The locals would have to weigh up whether the raiders are weakened enough to make attacking them worthwhile, bearing in mind the long-term consequences (feuds) as well as whether they have enough booty to be worth taking. At this point, the raiders may well have to offer a share of their plunder as a bribe to each clan whose land they cross, so by the time they get home they don't have much to show for their efforts. (And in their long absence, maybe someone's raided _their_ steads...)
Stephen
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