Dreaming Moon

Villages on the borders of tainted areas exist purely for profit. If the village is not plundered and infected, it can be used as a base for scavengers to enter in the old kingdoms and bring back treasures of all kinds. There have been plenty of folk who have entered into the old places in rags and have gone on to live lives full of silk and rubies thanks to odd trinkets and coins they have plundered and sold.

Given the fact that the kings guard are usually fast when being dispatched to the villages, its quite common for a plot of land to remain safe for decades before falling.