Atop a nearby mountain outcrop, a pack of giant mountain wolves howled at the breaking sky.

Similarly, in a fortified camp some distance from boomtown, a few dozen people stared up into the heavens as cracks formed in the distant sky.

“By the gods… what is happening?” a few muttered their worries.

Thankfully, as quickly as the cracks formed, they disappeared. The only suggestions that they’d been there in the first place came in the form of a blast of wind that arrived a few seconds later.

“It came from the west, boss. Any idea what that was?” one asked a scruffy man near him.

“No… perhaps my idiot boy found something he shouldn’t have. Prepare the men for combat. We move out in ten.”

“Got it, boss.” The man turned around and addressed the others. “Get your shit together, boys! We’re going out! Asses out front in three!”

Fifteen minutes later, a few dozen or so men stood in front of the makeshift gates to their camp. One might call it a town, as it had been their place of residence for the last few decades… but no.

It was too shitty of a place to really call a town, or even a place of living. Still, it was theirs. The Mountain Dagger Gang’s.

“Alright, men. You all saw the cracks in the heavens. My heart be tellin’ me there’s something big happenin’, and it be happenin’ right on our doorstep. Y’all know what that means?”

The only response was a few confused gazes and stares.

“...It means money, ya idiots. Pillagin’! Whatever. Move out!”

And with that, the Mountain Dagger Gang set out.

***

Boomtown.

What the hell was that? Kandy had been all around the forest before, and he’d never seen or even heard of such a place.

He rubbed and shook his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts. As he did, he caught movement in the corner of his eye.

It was the same bunny he’d seen earlier, except now it was right next to him, with its head cocked to the side.

Kandy reached out to grab it, but with his head still in a daze, missed by several inches. The bunny hopped away and hid behind some trees, not too far from the path that had appeared.

“Hey, get back here!” Kandy struggled to his feet and stumbled towards the gate for support.

Just as he was about to fall, a strong hand grabbed him around the shoulders and kept him upright.

“Woah there, kid. You sure picked a helluva time to show up.”

Kandy froze, then quickly reached for the hunting knife strapped to his waist. Before he could, though, the hand that had grasped his shoulder reached down and grabbed his wrist in a vice-like grip.

“Woah, hey. No need to be nervous. I forget that y’all youngins don’t get much of a briefing before getting thrown out here. Don’t worry, you’re safe here.”

The pressure around Kandy’s wrist disappeared and he whipped around to see his ambusher. To his surprise, it was an old man. Not too old, but definitely someone who was beyond his best years.

“Hey there, kid. So what’s your name?” the man asked.

“I—it’s Kandy.”

“Candy, eh? Cute. My wife’s sweet. I mean, her name is Sweet. I’m Boom.”

Kandy blinked, unsure of how to respond to the man’s ramblings. Thankfully, Boom continued to ramble on.

“So, what’d you do to get sent here? Kill a few evil dragons? A great wolf? Or is the demon king back at it again? You blow his head off?” Boom pantomimed an exploding head as he walked past Kandy, slapping the latter on the back as he did so.

“I, uh… what?” Kandy responded blankly.

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“A shy one, huh? Don’t you worry, you’ll fit right in here. I’m sort of the Mayor of the place. Have any troubles here, bring ‘em to me.” Boom emphatically beat his own chest as he wrapped his arm around Kandy again, forcefully leading him along the path and past the town gate.

As the two walked down the path, Boom glanced back at the town gate, worry clear on his face. Still, he quickly turned back around and cheerfully led Kandy along.

Meanwhile, Kandy turned his head and watched as the mysterious bunny poked its head out from behind a tree and… giggled? No, surely that was just his imagination at play.

After a brief incline in the road, Kandy stood at the top of the hill and looked upon the idyllic village with wonder. From his vantage point, slightly above the village and just about a hundred yards away, he could see several dozen buildings, clean streets, and figures moving about.

The buildings were especially eye-catching, at least to Kandy. The straight wooden slats, the tidily stacked and cemented stones, everything just seemed so perfect, especially after living in the dirty camp with his less-than-hygienic father for the last ten years.

“How is it, kid?” Boom beamed with pride. “Home sweet home. Forever.”

“What do…” Kandy turned towards Boom. “How does something like this exist here in the mountains? You don’t even have any defenses set up… just… anything, anyone could attack!”

Boom laughed heartily in response. “Attack? Well, you’re new here so I get it. No, this here is a safe haven. Or at least, it usually is. We usually have a barrier protecting the village and quite a bit of space around it. Keeps us invisible and unreachable from the outside world. When it’s up, we might as well not exist.

“Don’t know why it just went and exploded on us like it did, but…”

Boom scratched his head. “But that’s an issue for me to handle. You go along now, meet the others. We’ll figure out your lodging later.”

“I—uh. Okay. See ya then.” Kandy waved as Boom jogged ahead and disappeared into the village.

Alone and no longer accosted by Boom’s booming voice, Kandy was finally able to organize his thoughts. For now, he had an important decision to make. Was he to run back to camp and report this peaceful, defenseless village to his father? Strange as the village was, he couldn’t imagine it’d be able to defend against the Mountain Dagger Gang.

If the people of this village had been protected by this barrier for… whoever knew how long, perhaps they’d grown lazy, accustomed to a simple life. Easy pickings.

A twinge of guilt plucked at Kandy’s heartstrings.

Perhaps he’d check out the village first. By himself.

Almost as soon as he entered the village proper, though, Kandy found himself staring every which way with eyes as wide as gold coins.

Laid out haphazardly on a bench outside a smithery were several weapons, the designs of which Kandy had never seen before. Not only that, but they looked impressive, deadly, the kind Kandy had only ever imagined or seen from a distance.

As he walked past the pub, he saw several dwarves, elves, and other creatures he knew not the names of. Were those golems? Demonkin? Metal… beings?

…Was that a baby dragon lounging on a rooftop?

By the time Kandy made it to what seemed to be the town square, where most of the townsfolk seemed to be congregating, his face was white from terror.

“I’ve gotta get out of here…” he muttered. He’d never felt more out of place, even when surrounded by his father’s smelly, overly muscular cronies.

This place was just too weird.

He turned around, about to leave the town square—and promptly turned right back around to face the stage like everyone else.

His eyes bulged as he tried to ignore the hot breath on his neck. That’d definitely been a great wolf. What in the absolute hell was a great wolf doing in the middle of town?

Maybe he was imagining it, but it almost seemed like the hot breath was getting closer and closer.

Kandy moved forward, shoving his way through the crowd. It was unfortunate that he was drawing attention to himself, but at this point he just wanted to get away from that fearsome beast, no matter what.

Thankfully, the great wolf didn’t follow him. Maybe it never cared about him in the first place.

Boom soon stepped on the stage, quieting the crowd.

“Ahem. The orb broke. Due to unfortunate circumstances, I was unable to feed it.”

A voice sounded from the crowd. “You just forgot, didn’t you.”

“Shut up,” Boom retorted before continuing. “Anyway, you all saw the barrier break, saw the shockwave. Our beloved town is currently laid bare for all to see. You all know our agreement with the gods.”

He stared down a few more reckless individuals. “I’m sure outsiders will soon come to investigate the area. No leaving town, and absolutely no funny business for the next few weeks. The orb will need time to heal.”

Kandy looked around as most of those in the crowd nodded.

As Boom descended from the stage, he lit a cigar and muttered to himself, “May the gods have mercy on me.”

***

Rows of proud knights with golden crosses emblazoned upon their chestplates marched out of the city as onlookers oohed and aahed.

Their commander observed from the side, atop his steed. Despite the awesome show of chivalry before him, his mind was elsewhere. Earlier in the day, the city’s Baron had called him into his office and demanded he send his forces to investigate the disturbance in the sky, far above the distant forest.

As far as he was concerned, it was a waste of resources. Such an event called for a small team of scouts, not the mobilization of his entire legion of knights. At least the commonfolk were enjoying it.

He sighed, then patted his horse’s neck to prod it forward.

A quick trip. That’s all it was. That and a massive waste of time.