Lucimbucir is a bi-level city, with all the important, impressive places, the palace, the military buildings, most of the shops and temples, the theater, all occupying the high ground.  Along the east side, the upper town overlooks a dense section of city built up along the Alzette River.  This is the Grund.

This is a narrow district along banks of the Alzette River along the east side of the city.   It has two main roads, Plaetis on the west bank and Bisserweg on the East, joined by the Munster Bridge which is the heart of the Grund.  It is cut off from the city by steep slopes, and looking up from The Grund one can see the Corniche, a grand balcony that winds around around the Ducal Palace and the terrace of the Clear Fountain Plaza.   Stairs and one steep road connect the Grund with the rest of the city.  Despite the inconvenient location, the Grund is readily accessible by water, and so is a good entry point for visitors.  It has some places of interest for travelers, and has a concentration of taverns- built here to be readily available to travelers, the locals got used to coming down here too.   The Grund is also home to the “low” end of Lucimburic entertainment- since it outside the main wall, and the folk of Lucimburic have always tried to keep the area within the wall up to higher standards.  The Old Foundry used to be an iron foundry, but has been rebuilt as the city’s largest inn- the rooms of which are often unused these days.  Nearby, right up against the river, is Lucimburic City’s only known house of ill repute.  It’s run by Were-Weasels, and always seems to generate so much tax revenue for the Duke that it gets left alone, even under the Were-Bear leadership.  Local lore says it’s up against the river so patrons can come and go by boat, thereby preventing your scent trail from connecting you to this place.  Privacy has a different meaning in a society where so many citizens have animal noses.  The Grund has a diverse population but is, on average, lower middle class to poor.   Were-Rats seem to converge here, possibly because the Grund is urban yet lies beyond the main walls (there is an  outer defense on the high plateau to the east), giving them the feeling that they are in the middle of things, but can escape quickly if they have to.  This seems to be part of Were-Rat psychology.
This is where Tawna takes Haakon to “meet the folks” after their arrival in Lucimburic.

The Wereweasels are not a big clan.  By Tawna’s account the population of Wereweasels is somewhere shy of two hundred- a fifth of the numerous Wererats.

Tawna stops in to see her uncle Wallis, the closest thing they have to a family patriarch at the moment.  She explains that Wallis is a “lawyer”- a person trained in twisting the meaning of words, finding obscure and contradictory laws, mistakes in contracts, and the like, and by means of persuasion, using these findings to pervert justice in favor of his client.  For a hefty fee, of course.

She asks that Haakon not judge him too harshly for such an unsavory occupation.  After all, he did help arrange the service by which Tawna cleared the name of her family.

It’s not a tight family.  Wereweasels bond with each other, but rarely are they very close, because they don’t really trust each other.  It is a paradox of Wereweasel social philosophy:  If you trust a Wereweasel too much, it is insulting, because it is a way of saying that the Wereweasel is insufficiently devious.    Ordinarily, Tawna would not appreciate Haakon’s trust in her.

She accepts, because she has determined that he is nuts.  Nutters trust Wereweasels.

Wallis greets her with all the affection that Wereweasels can muster for each other.  They exchange hugs, and moments later, they exchange the items they lifted from each others’ pockets.

Then they talk about what her return means.

“Have you seen the Duke yet?”  Wallis asks.

“No,” Tawna says.  “I know, it’s expected.  I’m supposed to report.”

“Well, sooner rather than later would be a very good thing.  With everything happening, festival, wedding, victory celebration, he’s in a very good mood, and not bored.  Rulers are at their worst when they are bored.  Do you want me there to say something on your behalf?”

“No, uncle Wallis.  Thank you, but I’ve done nothing I need to weasel out of.  But I do want my keys back.”

Haakon, of course, appreciates the 'outside the walls' quality of the Grund but perhaps less so the smell, and yet he shows no sign of it.  It doesn't matter though, he's with Tawna, which is nice, and going to meet her folks, which is perhaps less nice than he pretends but he does, after all, have a front to maintain.  He's a human and so expected to be brimming over with insatiable monkey curiosity.

When Tawna told him of Wallis' occupation and asked him not to judge him too harshly, Haakon frowned and said, "Have you ever known me to judge anyone?"

When introduced to Wallis, he shakes hands and then ostentatiously counts his fingers before nodding and grinning.  "It's of no value to you.  You might as well give it back."  He's been around wereweasels (well ONE wereweasel) long enough to know how to be polite.

Tawna smiles.  Wallis smiles.  Haakon "gets it".  It is rare for an outsider to "get it" but clearly he does.

Outsiders divide personality traits into good and bad.  But things are different for the people of Lucimburic.  Sneaky, sly, deceptive... if these traits were not meant for someone to have, then the Goddess Arduinna would not have given them to anyone, would she?

So she made the Werewolves fierce, the Wereboars stubborn, and the Werebears strong, patient, and wise.

There was a purpose, a value to Wereweasels, and Tawna had, by her successful work, proved it again.

The social graces of Wereweasels being exchanged, the trio go to Tawna's small apartment, which has been locked up in her absence.  It's the second and third floors of a narrow town house, the kind that gets crammed into the narrow space originally left as an alley between two older houses.  The first floor has been converted into a "garage" for a carting and hauling operation run by Wereboars, so Tawna's is the only residence.  There are booby traps, and Tawna disarms them.

As they go in, she explains to her uncle:  "I brought Haakon back so we could get married.  You want to go around and tell the gang for me?  Haakon and I can settle in.  Then we've got to go see the Duke."

Haakon baulks at the entrance to Tawna's apartment.  He is sweating as he forces himself inside.  He puts on his happy face as he asks, "Are you sure you wouldn't want to live in Vesontio, where the kits could grow up without being under suspicion?" He knows the answer to that though and adds, "Failing that, how do I get to the roof?  I  don't do well inside buildings."

It may be their first quarrel...

"No, no, I thought you understood," Tawna says.  "We can't run away from the suspicion.  It is us.  But we need to be valued.  That's why I did all this.  To clear our names.  To remind a new Duke that we are a needed and valued part of Lucimburic.  It's okay if people check their pockets when we pass by.  But it's all worth it if they also think, Wereweasels... we couldn't get by without them."

She takes him up to the roof.  There's a faster way than the ladder, but it works best when one is in weasel form.

"You know, half our kits will be wereweasels," Tawna says.

From the roof, they see the narrow street.. the glint of the Alzette River... the walls and roofs of the cluttered, dense, dirty Grund district... and the height of the Cornice above, the terraced, parapet lined hilltop with the palace.

"We'll go tomorrow," she says.  "To the palace, and make my official report."

Haakon took a deep breath and then another and then another.  After a while he tried to gentle her saying, "I know that Tawna but it was so hard to think in there, the narrow walls, the low rooves and I imagined a life of sleeping in that room and remembered how, even in Vesontio, I slept on the roof, even when it was raining (or maybe sometimes in my open shop with the shutters wide.  I don't want to take you away from suspicion but", and here he paused to look up at the stars, "that is my proper ceiling".

"So, tomorrow, we will go to the Palace and clear your name and those of all wereweasels and we will find a place with more exits a human can use and somewhere for me to sleep beneath the Himmelboog and everything will be good."

Haakon sleeps beneath the Himmelboog.

When they go to the Palace, it is in the Meetings at the Palace thread.