The upper outer walls of Endless Veil's central city Krooth were already tall and imposing from where Shane's dwelling resided. Up close, they were massive and nearly otherworldly. As Shane, Liz and Sharlot approached the city, he thought the walls had to span at least one thousand meters, if not more. Now that he was much closer, those thoughts became distractingly exaggerated.

Shane did not mind how people eyed him while occasionally passing him as he was too busy looking left and right and left again. The wall extended outward in both directions to such a length that he had to question if it were limitless. In truth, Shane knew the wall that made up one side of the city was not endless, but after seeing it up close, it had to be fifteen hundred meters long and then some.

While the wall was dark gray in color, the morning sun illuminated a series of small repeating patterns. If I'm not mistaken, this pattern means the wall is made of Mythril! He thought in awe. Mithril was one of the strongest metals one could harvest in the game—it made sense to Shane that the game's central city would be made of something so durable.

He always thought the various metal's small but repeating patterns were a neat way to distinguish each metal type beyond color and density. Since mithril was one of the denser metals, its small, intricate pattern was several feet in length and had a specific sequence of swirls, lines, and zigzags.

Equally intriguing was the height of the magnificent structure. The wall stood at least fifty feet high and even higher where towers had been built. Massive and vibrant blood-red gems adorned the top of the windowed towers peppering the wall every couple hundred meters. Each gem seemed to emit a soft glow that filled the air with a faint but constant buzzing.

Shane wondered what the towers and gems were for when a well-armored human man caught his attention. The man in rusty, battered iron armor walked up to the wall and looked up. He paid no heed to those around him and, to Shane's shock, jumped over the wall in a single bound.

Just when Shane thought the man was about to make it over, his body stopped midair—a flash of red shined underneath the man's built figure as he lay upright and motionless in the sky. The buzzing noise that filled the air intensified before a violent flash of red light repelled the human away from the space above the wall and into a nearby pine tree. Shane couldn't help but stare as he watched the guy tumble through countless branches before hitting the ground with a heavy thud.

Just as the man was surprisingly getting to his feet, Shane heard a voice directed at him from his right.

"You shouldn't act so surprised, nor should you stare so much. You'll stick out like a sore thumb," a rough female voice told him.

When he turned to look at her, she turned away from him. She was almost a foot taller than he was, with a stocky frame and broad shoulders. He noticed plantigrade clawed feet poking out of a long tan gown complimenting a brown, hooded cowl that covered her head. Shane could barely make out the tip of a lizard's snout, her dark-green scales shimmering in the light. Above a shapely posterior emerged a thick green tail covered in scales that ended in a sharp, reflective point.

Shane felt a slight scratching at his neck. Sharlot must have caught me staring a tad too long; he sighed internally. Shane turned back toward the defeated human, who was slowly making his way toward the open gate—stumbling through pain from the fall.

"Some people try to show off their abilities within Krooth's walls. You will find this city is a great equalizer in that regard," said the woman in a gravelly voice.

Shane continued watching the man as he passed a couple of aloof human guards at the open gate's sides. As the defeated man stumbled inside, Shane could see the guards chuckling at their fellow human's humiliating setback.

"This city isn't kind to people like you. Not anymore."

He was about to ask her what she meant and turned toward her only to find she had vanished. Shane briefly glanced around, looking for her but stopped when the glares of those who passed him became overwhelming. If what she said was even remotely true, it would be best to keep his head down and act like he was a regular to this city and its quirks. Shane pulled his hood over his head, letting Sharlot snuggle near his shoulder, and pushed forward through the gate.

The human guards paid him no mind as he joined the small crowd funneling in and out of the city's entrance. It was busy and loud, with many different kinds of humans and mixed-race beings going about their day. Shane's anxiety scaled with the size of the crowd as he walked forward down a busy street. He looked down the strip and saw a large wall much like the one he passed, except it was a bit smaller in width. Likewise, the parallel walls connecting the structure behind and in front of him seemed to angle inward.

During development, Shane had seen conceptual art and the finished in-game design for Endless Veil's central city. The format it ultimately ended up being was that of a triangle in shape. Districts, separated by walls, made up the interior of the angular city. Even so, the section he was in was still incredibly spacious, with dozens of buildings able to fit side by side from one end to the other.

The street Shane was on was littered with shops, stalls, and vendors of various kinds, all selling their own specialty goods. As his eyes darted from one person to another, he noticed most humans were paired off with someone from the mixed races. Is this a district of interracial dating or something? Shane pondered almost longingly. Many of the diverse races he had seen so far were more than humanoid enough to be attractive, at least to him.

He observed several couples interacting with a few stalls littering the wide street. Cooked meats with exotic spices on his left filled the air with an enticing aroma, while fresh grains and vegetables sold their product to buyers on his right. Several couples were buying from these stalls. It looked strange to Shane that none of the humans were the ones buying things or handling money.

Shane felt a strong desire to escape the congregation as the sun rose higher. The piercing stares from the near-constant crowd had weighed on him heavily. He found an empty alley between two buildings where he could take a breather and observe the city on his terms.

"I need to find someone I can approach to get a proper lay of the land," he whispered in the shaded alley, away from judgemental eyes.

Countless humans and their anthropomorphic companions walked in and out of most shops on display. After observing for a few minutes, Shane walked toward a General Goods store that was getting the least amount of traffic. As he stepped inside, the warm, dim lighting, lacquered wooden walls, and shelves full of older-looking knick knacks helped to ease his anxieties. Standing in the middle of the store, behind a wrap-around glass case, was an older mixed-race fellow.

The taller aging man had a wolf-like face and long gray hair--briefly regarding Shane with a single yellow eye. Shane tried not to stare but found it hard given the shopkeeper's eye patch and intense glare.

"No solicitors!" The man barked, a soft growl punctuating each word.

"I'm not soliciting, sir," Shane replied softly. "I'm just here to sell some goods and procure some information."

The old wolf sharply turned toward Shane behind the glass case full of newer-looking trinkets and artifacts.

"Are you allowed to be here, boy? I don't recall your Overseer approving these transactions ahead of time…." The wolf's eye focused on him in a way that made him considerably uncomfortable.

Shane could feel his skin begin to crawl as the man looked him up and down.

"Where is your Overseer now?"

"They…are busy overseeing another one of my kin," Shane replied, feeling like he was quickly catching on.

"Heh heh, you think you're smart, don't ya?" The wolf laughed in a gruff tone. "I'm on to you, boy. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't call the guards on your smart ass right now."

Feeling a ping of annoyance that twisted into rising anger, Shane took a step forward to correct the tottering old fool. Suddenly, a solid ashen hand grabbed his shoulder before he could.

"Because my human is the first customer you've had in the past couple of hours," said the tall, regal vampire as he snuck Shane a defiant wink.