Nations allied aren't a tie. A tie is when the nations on the conquest map both have the same place.
The allience is when the first place country claimed 50% or more of the regions. When that happens, the countrys will allience and you can get signet from yours or the allied nations gate guards.
Bastok - K-8 Windy Woods - H-10 S. San d'Oria - in front of AH
Only appears depending on what nation has control. I am a hero in both San d'Oria and Windhurst. Prices aren't very expensive to me (Lakshmi Server), but 50k for Goddess is nothing compared to whm/blm/smn/nin scrolls at high levels. I stopped playing my high level blm because of the outragous prices on the scrolls. So just remember that when playing Bard. Its hella cheaper than all the others.
I'm Windurstian, found Valeriano in Bastok. Not sure if fame in Bastok controls these prices or not, but my Bastok fame is REALLY low.
Ginger Cookie: 127 gil Flute: 50 gil Piccolo: 1,166 gil Scop's Operetta: 690 gil Puppet's Operetta: 19,928 gil Fowl Aubade: 3,434 gil Advancing March: 2,425 gil Goddess Hymnus: 106,000 gil