"The forces of the world. War rages around us, a half-dozen different factions. We hold our own, but this shield would ensure our protection and neutrality from this war. We're not exactly subtle about our desires."<br/><br/>He offers an odd look, at the mention of vanishing townsfolk. "No?" he responds. "I realize we drew a large number of outsiders to us, but we drew them from over a large area, in order to not cause any problems."