He wonders how they're doing it. Not worth using his few remaining points (reserved for emergencies) on a random scry to try and figure it out.

He watches for the guy he was talking with earlier, to make sure to avoid him (because he can't speak the language anymore).

He is nowhere to be seen. Actually, there are considerably less people around than earlier in the day.

They probably already left the boat. He should too, then. Just in case.

Can he wait for nobody to be paying attention, or will he have to Act Natural instead?

Apparently no one is checking the people that are leaving.

Then he leaves, feeling only slightly sneaky.

What's this town like?

Small, mostly nested between the sea and a lake. Most buildings are just two-store tall and clear pastel colors, at least in the center where there is enough light to allow him to see the building's colors. The town's square is open to the ocean on one side and a lot of people are there sitting on top of picnic blankets.

It was probably a bad idea to do this experiment without an adult. When someone has a brilliant idea for a new spell and tries it out on their own without any backup they tend to die. But he doesn't trust any of the schoolmasters and - well, he had to get out.

He shakes off his momentary self-reflection and mingles with the crowds and low-key looks for a place that might accommodate a street urchin for the night.

There is a tall white-stone building with the door opens, but there is no one inside as far he can tell. The windows are stained glass with elaborate designs.

The square has benches, most are a bit exposed, but there is one between some bushes that might be sufficiently hidden. There is also a gazebo, but it's currently in use with  people selling food.

There is a back alley behind a rare three-store building, which doesn't look very dry, warm or soft. It should keep him very well hidden.

The town's population is mostly human, but as he wanders around he spots what looks like a nuclear family... of bears. They are dressed just like the human population, the "dad" maybe a bit more formal than usual and walking around as a group. In contrast, he also spots several rabbit children, but those are alone and he never sees the same rabbit twice, nor sign of their parents.

Well. Alternate universe.

(This was a terrible idea he is so lost and acting natural only gets you so far...)

That building looks important. Waiting for the gazebo to empty might be his best bet, a bench second-most. He's used to sleeping badly but it makes things harder later. Meanwhile, he snacks on food liberated from the buffet on the boat and stored in his pockets.

A rabbit girl sort of sneaks upon him and asks something.

He sees her coming at the last moment and manages not to jump.

(Rabbit girl?? Like the bears, a rabbit but wearing clothes?)

"I can't really understand you, sorry. Used up all my white." Shrug.

(A pink dress, actually. Walking upright and talking.)

She notices the language barrier and runs away.

He shrugs and picks a different spot to lurk in.

There is music and dance. It all feels very low budget and improvised though. But people are enjoying themselves.

It's homely, like a nice festival. He has some inkings of the common words and sounds, it was the nice kind of translation spell that let him hear nonsense and understand anyway, he mostly wanders and listens and tries to learn some important phrases.

After a while, he probably picked up things that mean "hello", "bye", "please" and some other things.

A very large guy bumps into him causing Nico to fall on the floor and that's probably "I am sorry" or "are you alright?" or both.

Uhhh. "Okay, no bad. No bad."

More gibberish. He extends a hand to help Nico up.

Well. He'll take the helping hand up.

But he kind of needs to get out of here before they realize he doesn't belong?? He says "thanks" and looks for an exit path or a distraction.

The boy, asks something and then retrieves... a small plastic flute out of a pocket. He plays a few notes.

There is a bright flash of light and Nico's vision is filled by the sight of a radiant white eagle.

"Greetings, mortal! It's my honor to grant you a translation spell! May you use it wisely and decide to purchase Radiant services in the future!"

And then the vision is gone.

"Did it work?"

"Apparently, yes! Strong stuff! Also I don't have any money."

"I didn't ask for any money."

"'May you use it wisely and decide to purchase Radiant services'...?" He mimics the other boy's voice pretty closely, modulo not having such a deep voicebox.

Look of confusion. "Is that what the spirit told you? It's just propaganda, kiddo."

"Oh, that wasn't you." He shrugs and attempts to cover up his embarrassment.