The waiting area of the land of the dead

Lyra, Will and Pantalaimon arrive. An official – Mr. Perkins – is at a desk. He prepares papers for them. He observes that they are still alive. He points them in the direction of a queue and says they’ll have to wait until they die before they can enter.

They start talking to a man – Jeptha Jones – who is there with his family. He points out that they don’t have their deaths with them, this confuses the children. He tells them to come and sit by the fire with his family and his wife Hannah makes them some soup. Lyra observes they are not dead either, and they explain they are waiting for their deaths. It appears their deaths are quite close – in fact they are huddled in a little group near them.

Hannah explains to Lyra that everyone has a death and it enters the world when the person does as a baby, and when it is your time to die your death guides you to the boat. Hannah explains that no-one knows where the boat goes. Lyra asks how she can find her death and she is told to wish for it, which she does. No death appears.

Lyra starts to tell Hannah a fantastical story about her parents and her birth and as she is doing so her death appears. Her death explains that once you go to the land of the dead you cannot come back. Her death explains that he can only take her there; she must find her own way back. Even though this sounds scary, Will and Lyra decide they must go.