- Sabriel reaches Cloven Crest, the broken Charter Stone. It's covered with Charter marks, much like the Wall, but unlike the Wall, these marks are frozen in place and not moving.
- Sabriel realizes what's broken the stone: a Charter Mage has been sacrificed upon it. This is seriously evil, and suddenly this broken stone doesn't seem like the best travel destination. Sabriel decides to stop long enough to call her spirit guide for directions though, because the broken stone will make that easier.
- Sabriel's spell of self-protection, made with Charter marks on all four cardinal compass points, is a little bit shaky. She heads into Death, naming all seven bells she wears strapped to her body, the essential tools of a necromancer. Each bell has a special power:
- Ranna, the "sleepbringer;"
- Mosrael, the "waker," or "the bell Sabriel should never use" (5.23) because it brings the ringer further into Death, throwing the listener into Life;
- Kibeth, "the walker," which can free the movement of one of the Dead, or send them to the next gate;
- Dyrim, "the voice that the Dead so often lost" (5.25);
- Belgaer, "the thinking bell," which can either restore or erase independent thought in the deceased;
- Saraneth, "the binder, the bell that shackled the Dead to the wielder's will" (5.27);
- and Astarael, "the banisher" and largest bell, that casts everyone who hears it far into Death, including the ringer. In other words: Go directly to Death, do not pass Go.
- The North mark on Sabriel's protective spell goes out, but she's already on her way into Death.
- Sabriel takes out a paper boat and sets it afloat on the river in Death, only the second time she's ever done this. The limit for paper boat launches in this reality is three per seven years, so Sabriel's got one left. She waits for the person she's summoned with the boat.