The sun was on the decline in this dimension. The sky had begun turning vivid colors; oranges and purples. Not too unlike the skies of Sophilia's own dimension. It would have been rather beautiful, if anyone could have endured the sand enough to look up long enough. The creatures of this place could in fact endure it, better than a human anyway.

Sophie had arrived at the edge of the buildings, after having spent quite some time in the market. She had a new necklace, and a fabric that appeared woven with a substance that looked like Earth gold. It was beautiful, and amazing. Cream and gold. They were free, of course. This dimension was unknown to Sophilia. She'd not been here before, so speaking the language and haggling, hadn't been options. That's how she justified it anyway.

Now she stood at the wall that separated the marketplace street from the palace yards. If sand could be considered yard. The wall was made out of a lighter colored stone than that of the homes and buildings in the town. It had no doors, only archways, side by side by side. Sophie wondered why not the need for doors? No matter, it would be easier for her to gain entry then.

Beyond the wall, was a great fountain. So large in fact, that it obstructed much of the view of the palace, once Sophie was standing before it. She looked around. No other creatures of this dimension seemed to occupy themselves here. She was alone within the 'gate' of the palace. It was strange to her, that the place was open, yet none dared enter.

She decided that she should be sneaking, rather than walking right inside. She had an uneasy feeling that although the palace was made to look grand and open, that it wasn't a place for creatures here to wander freely. She ducked behind the low walls of the fountain to watch the palace for activity.

There was another wall around the palace, though attached to it. More like a walkway around the large building, covered, with more archways. There were very large potted plants strategically placed in front of the joined spaces of each arch, and inside the walkway, there were guards, pacing.

They wore similar cloaks, though shorter. Better for movement, she assumed. They also dawned some kind of armor, as well as sword like weapons, clipped at the hip rather than sheathed. She assumed that to be because of their severe jaggedness. The swords were horrifying to say the least. Certainly a deterrent to the creatures of this world.

Sophilia waited, but it wouldn't seem that she could just enter through the front door. She glanced over her shoulder. Well she couldn't just sit here in full view of anyone outside of the palace either. There on the ground beside her, was some kind of shell, or nut. She picked it up. It was something like a coconut, only much smaller, more oval, and smooth.

She could tell now that she looked, that the large plants that decorated the palace yard had the nuts growing. This one must have fallen from a basket during clean up, since she saw no others on the ground. Well, good luck for her. While the guards were both faced away from each other and far enough apart that she could do it, she stood, and threw the nut as hard as she could over the awnings and off to the side of the palace.

The two guards rushed together and around the corner to investigate. Sophilia took the opportunity to hurry up to the palace and around the opposite corner. She figured that walking right into the front door was a poor idea. Still, she had to be careful, unsure of where the next guard would be. She stayed hidden by the large plants, moving from one, to the next, carefully as she rounded the building.

Another guard made his way down the path towards her. She stayed low, and rounded the potted plant as he passed by. Sophie wasn't too worried about being caught, as long as she was taken to a dungeon or spared for a few minutes, she could work up a tear in dimensions, small though it would be, and hopefully escape.

She continued on, coming to another wall that separated the front of the palace grounds from the back. This wall had no arches. Only a door, that, as luck would have it, was open. She watched for a moment. No one seemed to be using it. It must have been left open by accident, possibly by the last guard that passed.

Sophilia hurried to it, stopping outside to listen before peeking carefully inside. No one stood inside the back yard wall, so Sophie entered, hurrying to hide behind another potted plant. From under that deep red hood, hazel eyes scanned the scene in awe. The back of the palace grounds was filled with pools and waterfalls and lush vegetation. It was like the palace had been built around this tiny paradise, and that's exactly what it was. It was a painful reminder at how thirsty Sophie had become in this desert.

There appeared to be no guards back here, since the door was supposed to have been shut, keeping outsiders away. Sophie moved around the plant, around the corner, and into the open back of the palace. No need for doors, she assumed, with a gated paradise in your back yard.

Sophilia continued inside, keeping her ears open for voices and footsteps around each corner as she searched the palace for its hidden treasures. Only once or twice did she have to skillfully duck behind something quickly at the approach of a guard, before finding a single room, open, but seemingly empty aside from a large orb floating above a sort of alter in the center of the room. She'd traveled up some stairs once or twice, down long halls, and up a set of spiral stone stairs to find this room, and she's struck gold. Or orb, or whatever. She'd take either.

Hazel eyes widened in awe of the orb, and the sight drew her in. She was a bug to the lantern. Nothing could deter her. It was magnificent. It glowed a shade of deep green, and was about the size of an Earth grapefruit. What was it for? Could Sophilia have actually come across this dimension's power item? She wanted it badly. The orb called to her, and she reached out for it.

In that moment, a large leathery hand clasped around her wrist, jerking her away from the orb. Shit, she'd done that thing again, where she was too sucked into the beauty of an item to remember where she was or that she needed to be careful. One of her downfalls, no doubt. Her hood was thrown back from her face and she looked up into the incredibly angry scowl of a creature. Sheesh, it wasn't like she was going to steal the orb. Oh wait...

His expression went from anger, to shock at the sight of Sophilia who clearly wasn't exactly from around here, and then back to anger. His other hand was on that jaggedly terrifying sword, and then two more guards entered. Not good. They were speaking to each other in a language Sophilia didn't recognize, and then she was being dragged roughly from the room. "Ow, geeze," she grumbled, "relax already." Not that they'd understand her, or relax even if they did.

She glanced back over her shoulder at the orb. She'd really wanted that. Sophie still wasn't overly worried. She knew she wasn't of this world, and that these creatures would want to take her to their higher up, rather than throw her into a fiery pit, or whatever they did here to off people here. So she used the opportunity to get a good look at the rest of the palace, just in case she found herself with the chance to make her way back up to that orb...