Both Gilderoy and Leodhais finished their bottles of 'Coke' even as they reached the next, larger, human settlement. Leodhais was just about to discard the empty container made of plastic, as Peregrine had told him, when he paused in front of the rubbish bins. There wasn't only one like in the other village, but several, made of plastic just like the bottle, but opaque and in different colours. 

"They are designed to help the humans to recycle their waste," Peregrine spoke from behind him. "Never mind now, it's a very long story, and it has nothing to do with our quest. Humans are in love with labels, so you just need to read, and you'll understand them faster."

Leodhais nodded, following Peregrine's example and throwing the bottle in the 'plastic' labelled bin. 

"Let's go, the station is just across the road, mind the cars now," the dragon shifter added, leading them to an white-striped stretch of the road teeming with what he had already tried to explain to them as cars but what neither the elf nor the dwarf could quite grasp, waiting patiently for a count of three, then, seeing that none of the vehicles was about to stop to let them pass, walked into the road arrogantly nonetheless, forcing them to stop.

To Gilderoy's delight, a 'train'-- a snake-like vehicle composed of what look like many cars, just much larger, lined up and attached to each other-- was already waiting upon a road made of two infinite, parallel, metal rails, and while Peregrine entered the building labelled as 'Train Station' to procure their tickets, he and Leodhais remained outside to admire the vehicle up close. The world of the humans was much more interesting than either he or Leodhais expected it to be, and they had only just walked through the stones a couple of hours ago. There was so much to explore. 

"Hurry up, we got lucky. It's leaving in five minutes. Let's find a place to sit," Peregrine said the moment he joined them on the platform.

He waved at them to follow him as he walked along the train through the finest drizzle that started to ooze from the dark clouds in the meantime towards its end, where he finally found an empty compartment and, pressing a button on the side of the vehicle, opened the door and shepherded them inside.

"Do you feel anything from the ring, elf?" Peregrine asked as soon as they all settled comfortably upon the luxurious seats, so much softer than a horse's saddle. Only the fact that he loved Asfaleem didn't allow Leodhais to admit that he could easily get used to this form of travel. He was just wondering whether horses were allowed on board when Peregrine's question brought him back to his more pressing reality. 

He pulled at the leather thong keeping Alaric's ring secure around his neck, stretching it as far as it would go for the dragon shifter to get a good look, then shook his head even as the train jerked into motion, sending the band of gold swinging above his chest. It was still just that, a simple ring issuing no directions, he realised with relief as he dropped it again and slumped against the soft back of his seat, taking his eyes off the dragon's silvery orbs and letting them fall upon the countryside, now moving fast beyond the train's window, green trees morphing into grey houses morphing into amorphous smudges of greys and greens, as the train rushed smoothly across the world. He wished the ring stayed that way, cold and mute, he wished they wouldn't find Alaric's daughter, so he could introduce his Annwyn to the king whom he considered his stepfather, hoping he would accept her... 

Leodhais closed his eyes, admitting to himself that despite his sheltered childhood and youth, he didn't believe in miracles. This quest wasn't going to be simple... Focusing on the train's whooshing and hissing rather than on his compassions' conversation, he let it lull him to a state somewhere between sleep and consciousness, a place where his reality existed in a more pleasant form, a little unfocused, without its sharp edges.

"How can that ring guide us to the girl?" He heard Gilderoy ask, the question followed by Peregrine's reply immediately. 

"It's charmed, of course. Alaric is a descendant of the ancient race of half-gods, as you know; that's what the legends say at least. He doesn't use them, but he has great powers... I'm not quite sure, but... have you noticed the rings he wears?"

"I have," Gilderoy said. "They are nine, eight now that he gave one to Leodhais."

Leodhais cracked open his eyes, in time to see Peregrine nod. He was just as curious as Gilderoy about the rings and Alaric's powers. For some reason, the king didn't show them; he preferred to look as ordinary as any inhabitant of Silmarea, leaving the use of magic to Emrys.

"Just as I thought. His race is almost extinct. The legends say that the rings were created by the most powerful wizard, something of an Emrys of the time, when there were only the last ten of the king's descendants left. If Alaric keeps nine of them now, it means it's only him and his daughter left. The girl is important, one of her kind..."

Leodhais closed his eyes again; he didn't care about the girl. She would never be more special than Annwyn for him, one of her kind or not.

"Anyway," Peregrine continued after a long while, his words reaching Leodhais through a haze of sleep. "The rings were designed to find each other. If Alaric gave us one now, it means that he had left one with the girl's mother in the past and hopes she had passed it upon her daughter, and the girl kept it. I guess we will see soon enough whether everything went as he planned it. We will reach the city where Alaric spent his wild years in less than four hours..."

All sounds faded around Leodhais then, as he abandoned himself to the rocking motion of the train, taking him inexorably towards his future, falling asleep and only waking up when Gilderoy shook his shoulder hours later. 

"Wake up, Leodhais. We're in London."

The elf opened his eyes, groaning as he realised where he was. He had just had the most wonderful dream about Annwyn...

Luckily, the dragon shifter couldn't read his mind, Leodhais mused, thankful for small mercies, his eyes on Peregrine's back as he grabbed his things and followed his companions outside. 

As one, they stepped off the train and on the platform within a crowded building. The amount of people rushing around them was staggering, Leodhais had never seen a room so full in his life. His eyes intent on the quantity of people swarming around them, he pulled the ring out from beneath his t-shirt-- it felt suddenly unbearably warm against his bare skin.

The band of gold glowed in the strange penumbra filling the enormous room larger than Alaric's Great Hall as it swung on its leather thong, while Leodhais' eyes darted to the hall's ceiling where metal arches spanned with greyish glass replaced the roof, creating the most strange effect in the light, making Leodhais feel neither inside a building, nor outdoors.

Both Peregrine and Gilderoy grinned happily at the sight of the ring as they dragged him outside through the mass of people hurrying in all directions, to a quiet, empty spot in a small lane by the station building, into a cool drizzle.

"Find her, elf," Peregrine instructed.

"You do it," Leodhais replied, removing the ring from around his neck and passing it to Peregrine as if it had bitten him.

Peregrine sighed and shook his head. In his opinion, this was another sign of the elf's irresponsibility and immaturity. He hoped for Annwyn that he would grow... However, he said nothing as he took the thong from the elf with his right hand, then let the ring hang above his open left palm. 

Gilderoy and Leodhais watched in awe as it drew circles above the dragon shifter's hand for a while, until it started to pull ever so slightly to one side.

Peregrine looked around, towards the beginning of the lane where he fixed his eyes on one landmark or other which he apparently recognised, then glanced at the ring again even as he decided, "It's pointing north."

He offered the ring to Leodhais, and when the elf shook his head in refusal, Peregrine put it around his own neck. Adjusting the satchel on his shoulder and the sword at his waist, he led the way back towards the entrance of the train station, where he grabbed a folded piece of paper labelled as 'Tube Map' off a shelf filled with leaflets. He had been told that the map composed of colourful lines did not represent the real shape of London, but in all honesty, he never entirely understood how it was possible. However, High Barnet still looked like the northernmost point of the city that could be reached by tube. 

They didn't have a better clue than the direction indicated by Alaric's ring, so they could as well start there... He shrugged, folded the map, and pushed it in his bag before he looked at his companions.

"We need to take the Northern Line to High Barnet," he announced. "Come on, let's find the tube station; we'll have to change at least once..."