Surely not "populated by" in the sense of them actually living in there?

Some of them do sleep underground because the sewers go pretty deep in some places, but usually not every night.

Well, clearly they aren't down there for lack of suitable housing up here. Exploring the sewers sounds potentially interesting, but it should wait until he has things like a lantern and more suitable clothes.

The sewer proles bid him good day.

He bids them good day as well, and takes a look at the positions of the suns when he's back at street level. How much longer until Watson is likely to be done with a full day of medicine?

Any minute now!

Then he will make his way back to the inn for dinner with Watson and Miriqua.

Miriqua orders fish and potatoes. "How did you two fare today?"

Watson orders sausage and potatoes and eagerly describes the handful of advances he learned about and says he should be ready to open his own practice in six months, maybe a year if he wants to get fully fluent in the language.

Holmes gets fish and miscellaneous greens and mentions a nice little house a comfortable walk from Beretn's office.

"And you've checked that the place is empty?" Miriqua says.

"It was quite clear from the windowsills that no-one was living in it, but I can talk to the office tomorrow. Unless you're planning to move with us, Miriqua, in which case I should look for roomier houses."

"I can stay in town for a few weeks, but temporary arrangements will suit me. After that I will go back to my original round and we can correspond in writing or visit occasionally."

"That sounds very suitable," says Holmes. "For my part I look forward to having a more permanent residence."

"So do I," adds Watson. They're having this conversation in the local language, and both of them are getting along alright, albeit with somewhat slow speech and obvious accents.

"You're picking up the language very well," Miriqua says. "Whoever made you didn't make you slow, that's a tremendous mercy."

Watson has already explained the concept of parents once today. "Where we come from, there's a lot more chance involved in creating people--for one thing, everyone starts as babies."

"The fact that there's two of you makes it more likely that you really did come from a place like that," acknowledges Miriqua. "But you should be aware sooner or later, it's possible to make people with false memories."

"I expected as much. But my memories of Watson are extremely detailed and have so far matched the truth in every particular."

"Could I have been made with a piece of metal in my shoulder? Because it's definitely still in there where I remember it."

"- no, I don't think you could have," she says. "So if the wound's not fresh... huh."

He nods. "It was a scar when I arrived, just as I remember it."

"Truth, I find, is often stranger than fiction."

"This would be very strange indeed, yes, quite unheard of."

"It will have been a big surprise in London as well. I hope they managed to stop the snake before it put anyone else through its mirror."

"...I hope so too," says Miriqua.