The time monster portal was gigantic. It wasn’t like this single doorway that
they all stepped through. If that had been the case, the Durune humans could
have created some kind of blockade around it. Maybe they would have built an
actual impenetrable structure, or simply stationed mages around to bottleneck
them as soon as they arrived. Unfortunately, that was not practical. The
portal was a ring, several kilometers in diameter, and a monster could appear
from anywhere along that ring. Had the planet enjoyed Earthan population
numbers, they probably could have figured it out, but they just didn’t have
enough manpower, or resources. But the population was rising, and people were
already developing a pattern of building more towns to accommodate the
increase, rather than simply expanding the borders. It just became an
assumption that a fifth town would follow the fourth, and would probably be
finished around 2056. Every new town up to that point had its own reason for
being, though. They weren’t making them just for the sake of it. Splitsville
arose from a fundamental dispute about how to protect themselves against the
monsters. The ones who built Parade wanted to be closer to Watershed.
Hardtlanders wanted to live in a forest, which didn’t always exist, as
plantlife took a long time to take root. So what would the fifth town be all
about? Well, it had to do with the monster portal. As explained, the portal
was a ring, so monsters could be heading in any direction when they arrived,
but they wouldn’t stay that way forever. If they wanted to get to the other
towns without circumnavigating the globe, they would all eventually head in
the same direction. Experts surveyed the land, and found that—no matter
where the monsters originally came from, and no matter which town they would
end up attacking—they would all pass one specific spot. So they chose that as
the site of the new town, and called it Frontline. Families would not be
living in Frontline. Having children around would not only be discouraged, but
against the law. It was designated only for mages, and particularly adept
fighters. It would also remain pretty small, and be used primarily for
defense. Once this was determined, they stopped calling it a town, and started
referring to it as a fort. Fort Frontline. It did have everything anyone would
need to live there happily, though, just like any town. It had an inventorium,
and a forge, and even a barber shop. They did do some training, in preparation
for attacks, but they didn’t spend all of their time that busy. They
still enjoyed themselves. The other towns kept all the mages they needed, but
their jobs suddenly became a little bit easier, because now there was this
protective barrier between them and their enemies. The best part about it was
that the monsters didn’t communicate with one another, or warn each other of
obstacles. So they just kept coming this way, sensing that there was life to
destroy, almost always completely oblivious to the fact that they were not
going to get far. Some did manage to move around it. Speedstrikers, for
instance, were cunning and strategic, and capable of planning for the future,
instead of only following instincts. And there was the occasional monster who
just randomly went all the way around the planet. But for the most part, Fort
Frontline was considered to be a grand success.
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