Polly and Digory whirl through dark water until they’re standing on something solid. When they open their eyes, they notice that everything is bathed in a strange red light. It doesn’t seem like sunlight, electric light, or candles. The light seems tired.

Polly immediately says she doesn’t like the world they’ve entered. They are standing in a courtyard with stone buildings rising all around them. Many of the buildings are crumbling. Though the red light is everywhere, the sky is nearly black. Polly and Digory keep holding hands as they turn in circles, afraid that someone is watching them through a window. They stand still and listen, but they hear nothing that would indicate anyone is around.

Though Polly wants to go home, Digory insists on exploring. They cross many hallways and courtyards that are in similar states of decay. Digory eventually grows tired and is about to suggest going home when they reach a massive golden door. They peek inside and freeze: The room is full of people sitting extremely still in rows. Polly and Digory eventually decide that the figures must be statues, not real people, and Polly draws nearer, eager to look at the clothes the statues are wearing.