Kjøretøy Og Mat (Vehicles and Food)

JP with Jaxx, Redsword and Cindy

The morning was giving way to afternoon when the small group ventured out of the iron gates that led from the place grounds to the city of Oslo.

The city was bustling with people, but over the last few months, Elizabeth had almost gotten used to the influx of tourists to Paris for the expo, so the amount of people on the streets of Oslo seemed relatively less, and perhaps a bit calmer.

The day was warming, and the sun shone brightly in the clear blue sky. It was pleasant, maybe in the mid-60s. Elizabeth wore a small shawl, more for the coolest of the light breeze that seemed consistent, at least for the moment.

Walking through the streets, it became cleat that while Olso was, mostly, a mix of the various races. It had a lack of Eldren, actually Elizabeth was starting to feel like she might be the only one out and about today. It also had a plether of dwarfs and humans. It was a good thing Elizabeth had thought to give a ward to Lily before they left the guest house, it would keep her from turning, while out. There were, of course, some gnomes but gnomes tended to prefer more technologically advanced countries like Germany or France. There were also some Arundan, many were hanging displays of lights and ropes, that would be adored with fresh flowers in a few short weeks as the summer festival was on its way. Others were hanging signs with festival information, in both Norwegian and English. Arundans didn't tend to live directly in Oslo, aiming for more the outskirts. These Arundan might have lived here but it was more likely, at least some, had come from other areas to prepare for the festival. Orcs were around as well, but in the numbers one would expect in a city, which wasn’t a large amount.

Their first stop was a quick in and out at the mage guild, to register both Elizabeth and Sung.

The mage guild, and as they would find out, all the guilds in Norway were fairly small. The largest being the combined woodworkers/crafters guild. The mage guild was set inside a two story house. Elizabeth wanted to explore it more, at another time. For now, it was less than 5 minutes for them to get registered.

After that it was on to buying the wagons, which would be delivered to the palace their last day there.

They walked into the wagon dealership. It wasn't much different than most dealerships of that kind. A human male, probably in his 40s, came up to the group, took one look at Elizabeth and bowed. As he raised himself backup to standing, he had small smile infiltrating his lips and it was almost as if dollar signs had appeared in his eyes. The others might have money, as well, but it was harder to tell with humans. Eldrens were, almost, a sure bet.

"Welcome, I am Gard Ellingsen. How can I help you?" The man said.

Sung stood a little bit behind Lady Elizabeth enough to see but not be in the way he would in his dark-colored suit with a light, long trench coat. His sword was in a shoulder harness, keeping the blade and sheath close to his body and the helmet almost in his armpit. This did not conceal the sword very much. If you were looking for it, you would know what it was. For now, Sung would take the position of a bodyguard. This keeps most of the thugs or thieves to keep their dissents. not that he expected any trouble. Sung knew trouble could find them at any time.

"We are wanting to look at a wagon, something that can handle the terrain headed north." Elizabeth hadn't miss the man's look, and while she understood that it was his job, she also didn't want to give away that she was buying several carts until later.

"Certainly," the salesman said, he seemed to be still deciding about the others who were with her. "Come right this way."

He lead her to the first vehicle which was enough room for 4 passengers, luggage, a tent or two.

"We will need something larger," Elizabeth stated. "Enough for camping equipment, and some heavy items."

Gard showed them two more before arriving at one that would work, with the guard on the front. Then they choose a Orc sized vehicle.

Then came the haggling, which Elizabeth was surprisingly good at. "I will be sending my engineer over tomorrow to check out the engines. So, money back if they do not meet her approval."

"Of course," Gard said. By now he had noticed Sung's sword and wasn't going to argue about details.

Then came the cavaot, "I'll need 4 of the same kind of wagons, plus the Orc sized one." Elizabeth stated.

Gard's mouth hung open for just a second. "Yes, of course, I can accommodate that."

Deal done, papers signed and Elizabeth led the group out of the dealership.

"Shall we get some lunch next?" Elizabeth asked the group.

Dr. Jackal listened to the negotiation that was handled by Lady Elizabeth and smiled as she mentioned lunch. He nodded to her and replied, "That sounds good." Lily replied, "A lovely idea Lady Elizabeth." The good doctor may have been appearing as a gentleman to the public eye , but he was keeping an eye out for anyone staring at them oddly. He remained close to Lily in case the dwarves trigger her werewolf side or someone wanted to hurt or kidnap her. Lily was please to have the attention of the good doctor and was unaware of his intention.

Elizabeth pulled out a small map of Oslo, found where they were, where they needed to go and the best way to get there. She knew some people in Oslo knew English, but couldn't be sure how many and for this reason preferred not getting lost, it would take a while and probably much miscommunication to have to get directions in a language none of the group, that was currently there, spoke.
They had to take a few detours, due to some streets being closed to get ready for upcoming festival. However, they did arrive at their destination about twenty minutes later.

Det Velsmakende Bordet, the wooden handcarved sign, adored with scrollwork and a large fork and knife on either side of the words, hanging over the front door read.

The restaurant itself looked like a converted house, except a large extension towards the back which had some noise, and a small amount of steam coming out if the back of it. The wonderful aromas that drifted into the air confirmed the suspension, that was the kitchen.

They headed inside, and were seated quickly. The maitre de' bowing to Elizabeth upon seeing her. The room was full of beautifully made wooden tables and chairs, with similar scrollwork to the outside sign. That was the work of Dwarves, more than likely.

The room was lit with both candlelit, and steam lanterns giving enough light to see but also creating a calming effect.

Elizabeth was not surprised to see it wasn't busy, they were there slightly after any lunch rush, but the other reason was that restaurants were a fairly new concept to Oslo. Before most would eat in a dining area of whereever they were staying, which would only be for the guests, or in bars. The idea of a sit down restaurant for just eating in, that was new.

Elizabeth glanced around, after sitting down. It was the finest restaurant in Oslo, but by Parisian or London standards would have been mid-level (though maybe on the high end of that). The Eldren wasn't judging, just making an observation.

The human waiter, who did speak English with a Norwegian accent, took their drunk orders. They did have British tea, and somewhat of a surprise coffee, also water, milk (goat), and fresh juice. Elizabeth ordered the tea.

Dr. Jackal asked if they had coffee since he was not sure and he got lucky that they did in deed have coffee. He ordered some non-alcoholic coffee while Lily ordered the same tea as Lady Elizabeth. Both of them were a bit curious to the culture of Norway as they looked at the decor of the place.

The walls were decorated with paintings of the countryside, there was a fireplace, unlit at the moment, which held two swords above the mantle piece. The swords looked antique, with fancy metal hilts. They were crossed in an X design facing each other.

The windows made up the rest of the walls, and while they weren't part of the decor, the scenery, as it looked out over the water, could have been.

Soon enough the waiter came back with drinks, and menus. Fortunately the menus had English translations next to the Norwegian words, but there wasn't much for descriptions of each dish. The dishes themselves were a mix of Norwegian, British and German food.

Dr. Jackal was a bit confused by the menu as he looked confused. However Lily was familiar with some Norwegian foods due to her father's lavish parties for the upper crust. Since he did business all over the world he hired chefs from all around to impress his clients. Lily saw Dr. Jackal was struggling with the menus and leaned over to whisper to him., Lily whispered, "I may be easier to get what I am having." Dr. Jackal whispered back, "What are you getting then?" Lily whispered back, "For my appatiser I am getting the Fiskesuppe which is a fish soup is found all over the country, but it's famous in Bergen. It is a white, milk-based soup with vegetables and various kinds of fish. Then for the meal I am ordering Reindeer meat and Raspeballer which is a Potetball and a traditional Norwegian potato dumpling. A similar German dish is called Kartoffelklöße. The main ingredient is peeled potatoes, which are grated or ground up and mixed with flour, usually Barley or wheat, to make the balls stick together. Then for dessert I'll have Norwegian Krumkake cookies which are fragile, sugary cookies made with a krumkake iron, which gives them their signature pattern." Dr. Jackal nodded his head as he replied, "Sounds good. I'll have the same then."

Elizabeth looked over the menu, while not a common cuisine among the Eldren, she wasn't completely unfamiliar with some of the food. Like Lily, Elizabeth had also been introduced to it due to her parents hosting duties or other parties. "Oh, I think I'll get some brunost for the table." She knew the cheese was more commonly eaten at breakfast but could be eaten anytime. "kjøttkaker with potatoes, and krumkake filled with trollkreme, though now that you have mentioned that I believe I will also have the Fiskesuppe, as well."

So, that would be lunch Norwegian meatballs, which were seasoned and different than Swedish or Italian meatballs, the fish stew and cone shaped waffle cookies, filled with Ligonberry creme, which was closer to a mousse.

Elizabeth then said, "That reminds me, we should get a list together of foods to buy here, in Oslo, to take with us. I have some idea but wanted to hear any ideas, any if you might have."

Lily nodded at Lady Elizabeth and replied, "Perhaps we can get some Ligonberrys and Ligonberry jam since we can use it on bread for breakfast or with Ligonberry cream for dessert since it is a local item."

"Yes, we can. Also, we should be able find ligonberries and blueberries at the campsite. But certainly having some for the trip is a good idea, and definitely the jam, as that will be time consuming to make. I was thinking smoked salmon as it would stay good for a long period of time and had a variety of uses." Elizabeth added. "Any other ideas?"

Dr. Jackal nodded as he replied, "Potatoes would be good for the trip. There is a lot of ways to cook them such as soup, stew, baked, fried, boiled and they go well with fish, fowl and meat."

"Yes, added to the list." Elizabeth wasn't writing this down, she meant a mental list.

The waiter came back, took their orders and then left. A little later he came back with their food. The food was delicious and the group talked and ate. Dessert was also very good. Elizabeth paid then they were on to their next stop. "I think we should go to the camping store next." Elizabeth stated.

Dr. Jackal nodded as he replied, "Since the weather seems a bit much we should consider tents for outside as well as futon bedding to sleep in the vehicles if we get a rain storm. I can survive in terrible conditions, due to the other guy, but I don't recommend it for you all. It would hard to complete our mission if anyone got the flu or a cold."

Lily looked at Dr. Jackal and had a pained look at him when he mentioned living in a harsh environment.

"Dr. Jackal the futon bedding is a good idea. We brought tents with us from France. Along with a number of supplies but not everything we might need." Elizabeth explained. "There were some items that could not be acquired in the short time we had and there might be things in Oslo we did have in France." That would be due to the climate and other differences between the two countries.

Lily then asked, "What other things do you think we need Lady Elizabeth?"

"Tarps, we were only able to get three to bring with us. It would probably be good to bring some firewood for traveling as backup, if we need it. More blankets. Beyond that we can see whatelse the store has." Elizabeth responded. "My father used to take me camping, at least, once a year. I am fairly familiar with what it is like, though I must admit this terrain might be slightly more rugged than what I am accustomed to. I am fully aware however we have team members who have never been camping. I would like to find things to make the experience more pleasant for everyone. So, maybe little luxuries that can be easily brought along would be good."