I mentioned this discussion to Ian. His contribution is that, no, they're not sneaking in, they've been invited. They just haven't realised it. You can, of course, do a little bit of foreshadowing. A raven following them, or a wolf driving off some lurking danger in the night. Both animals are associated with Humakt. BTW, Ian also figures that if they cotton on, and refuse to be this stupid, then that night maybe just the pizza gets killed. ;-) But I'm betting they won't, so on with the plot.
For the truly evil gamemeister, with a touch of alynx in his make-up (Ian's words), give them a chance to stay the hell away early on. Then, make it miraculously easy for them to get there. Guards that miss them within a few meters, turn around to take a piss just as they sneak by, signs saying 'This way to Tourney Altar'. If they decide to chicken out then, it's too late. No matter which way they go, the signs to Tourney Altar point in that direction.
As they come in to Tourney Altar, they meet a grim man, leaning on his sword. They may mention, or not, that they are going there. He says, whatever they say, that he is waiting for an invitation to go to Tourney Altar, and that he will see *them* later. When one of the ritual's participants dies, that is his invitation. It's a Death ritual, and a death is needed. He is Humakt.
Do you have any plan for exactly what ritual it is that they're about to blunder into? One that I think I'll try using sometime myself is a farewell to a Rune Lord. She is dying of some tedious and painful disease, and would rather die cleanly. So, she asks her fellow worshippers to honour her with a fighting death. No straw death for her. A call has been sent out to meet at Tourney Altar. Presumably, your YT is caught in the effective radius of the summons, and this could pull the party in. Any other Death-runed deities among the party's gods?
If you have something neat already in mind, by all means do please share it. We're running out of ideas for our lot in Prax, and I'm quite happy to re-use a good one.
Alison
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