In the short story "Lyra and the birds", Lyra and Pantalaimon guide the daemon Ragi to the home of an alchemist living in Oxford, a journey fraught with danger. Also includes a fold-out map of the alternate-reality city of Oxford, a brochure for a cruise to The Levant and a postcard from the inventor of the amber spyglass. The author's introduction suggests the peripheral items might be connected with the story or to stories which have not yet appeared.