Don't you think that postponing our meeting with Odin for another month can be very dangerous? He is not known for his all-forgiving nature. Also, if we make a good impression he can give us a few pointers about Mab or our Exaltation. We probably will be able to negotiate for some hired help with our aggressive negotiations with servants of Emma-O.
1)He doesnt live in our city like Lara Raith and the White King do.
2)He doesnt give free information unless it suits his purposes. Note how Dresden still knows fuckall about what a Starborn is?
And its doubtful he knows our Exaltation if freaking Kakuri who tried to wield it as a weapon know nothing about it.
It wasnt buried in the heart of his Power like it was in Mab's.
3)He isnt going to stick out his neck to side against Mab for no good reason.
He isnt her vassal, but bears a Mantle of Winter, and he has worked with Mab for centuries.
He respects her.
4)We have seen his hired help in canon.
Einherherjar arent specced to deal with Akuma or Skinwalkers. Valkyries are rare enough that he only sends them out one at a time. And the rest of the Norse pantheon are doing their own thing; see Battlegrounds, where none of them show up.
5)He isnt impatient.
He didnt reveal himself to Dresden for at least five extra years after the First Valkyrie showed up in Chicago.
We are in no rush there.
In video game terms, he's a non-time sensitive side mission.
Meeting itself is free. Prepping for the meeting, if we want to take it seriously, is not. Stuff like renting Mac's or finding another location. Looking for foci to use to learn of Mab's plans and adjust our strategy accordingly. We need every advantage we can get.
And we can't drop Cauldron - we made a promise to train Olivia until Christmas, when we'll give her a choice of unchaining her inner devils or going on as a mortal. That's a heavy promise and one I intend to keep.
1)My understanding is that its supposed to be a Free Action.
Just like dealing with the servants of Kakuri is a single action encompassing the entire situation however it turns out, meeting Mab is going to be a single action encompassing THAT situation. Hotel/Mac's et cetera.
Devoting extra AP there just feels like overkill. Especially given as we have Kakuri and a skinwalker (edit: to worry about).
2)November and December would be two AP worth of training.
If we use the second AP we get in December on Cauldron stuff, that becomes 3AP.
If we use every extra AP(we get +1AP in Nov, and +2AP in December) on this, that becomes 5 AP.
We can afford to drop it at need for this month. I dont want to, but we could.
I'm sorry, but I think you've just invented this problem. If Gard declined to ferry us to Odin like she did to Dresden IC, we would use RVD to reach Oslo(according to wiki and our visiting card, probably) in no time. But I think she won't, because ferrying chosen heroes to Odin is her job description.
I didnt.
RVD doesnt actually allow you to take anyone else with you.
And its in my opinion, foolhardy IC to show up at the heart of Odin's power unescorted.
Or frankly, to show off that we can do that yet.
Dont assume that Odin is our friend just because he was helpful to Dresden in canon.
Or that he's allowed to interfere with Molly and matters around her.
They dont necessarily follow.
