- Abhorsen's house is a like a five-star hotel of comfort. Despite the fact that she visited as a child, Sabriel barely remembers it, and her father is most definitely not home.
- The magical talking cat introduces himself as Mogget, and hints that his collar and bell are binding him to serve Abhorsen.
- The house is staffed with more Charter sendings, who bathe Sabriel (forcefully) and serve food. The sendings aren't really alive, but have been programmed for tasks and given personality by generations of previous Abhorsens.
- So we discover an important concept: it turns out that Abhorsen isn't Sabriel's father's name, but a title, and now that Sabriel's father is missing, Mogget is addressing Sabriel as Abhorsen in his place.
- The sendings serve Sabriel and Mogget a spectacular dinner. Mogget ruins the mood, though, by telling Sabriel that her father is almost certainly beyond the Final Gate in Death, or else he wouldn't have sent her his sword and bells.
- Without thinking, Sabriel tries to get back to Death when she hears this, but Mogget reprimands her—Abhorsen's House is protecting her from the Mordicant, and she would become vulnerable as soon as she crossed the threshold to Death.
- Sabriel can still feel a faint echo of her father's presence and is determined to reach him somehow: "I felt his presence, though he is trapped beyond many gates. I could bring him back" (8.54). Mogget argues with her, telling her that her path is already chosen.
- Mogget tells Sabriel that her father sent her to school on the other side of the Wall because he wanted her to be safe, but won't reveal any more.