Problem with an antagonist's plan

[Brandon S. Pilcher]

My current WIP is a prehistoric fantasy novel which is about a hunter-gatherer woman who must rescue her sister from a tribe that wishes to sacrifice her to their volcano god. This other tribe is a separate species of hominin whom the protagonist and other humans (as in Homo sapiens) of the setting refer to as "mountain-dwellers". They're physically stronger and stockier than humans, but have simpler technology and have a level of intellect comparable to that of our world's Neanderthals and Denisovans.

Anyway, the reason these mountain-dwellers are able to track down the heroine's sister and capture her is because they have a human helping them, namely the heroine's ex-lover whom I would consider the real villain of the story. This guy got himself kicked out of the heroine's band after he tried to force himself onto her, but like many ex-boyfriends, he still wants to claim her as his mate. His plan is to use the heroine's sister as a bargaining chip, letting the mountain-dwellers throw her into the volcano if the heroine doesn't agree to let him back into her life.

And this is where I'm a little stuck. The mountain-dwellers he's helping want to sacrifice the sister to the volcano, believing that it'll prevent the next upcoming eruption. If our villain offers to have the sister spared as long as the heroine agrees to become his lover again, that would piss off his mountain-dweller allies. Admittedly, it wouldn't be out of character for this dude to betray the mountain-dwellers, but I'd like for him to have a backup plan should the heroine agree to his demands (which would require him to call off the sacrifice of her sister). What could that be?

 

[buttercream]

A second, more "accurate" prophecy, maybe? I don't know if that's the route you're taking, but you could have him set someone else up to be sacrificed instead. Or something like a goat if he's not that awful.

 

[bACK iN mY dAY]

It could revolve somewhat around his set up in the mountain dweller tribe. If she's going to agree, how does he get her out? Spitballing - he has inside help (maybe another lover he's betraying), he's noticed a weakness in their 'security', he's going to set up a distraction. He wants the girl back who he tried to force himself on, so there's an aspect of intense want and need there. So you'd imagine he's willing to go to some quite extreme, risky measures to pull this off perhaps, or he's simply smart enough that he's sure his plan will succeed. Maybe he poisons the mountain dwellers food? Maybe the mountain dwelllers aren't actually planning on sacrificing her and he's simply laid that seed in some other way? Not sure, but when you imagine he's willing to do some extreme stuff, maybe a whole variety of things become possible.

 

[big soft moose]

Maybe the mountain dwellers think he’s a god or demigod like a child of the volcano or something so his word is law

 

[Stuart Dren]

Why are they trying to sacrifice that sister in particular? I assume it's more than just virginity. His plan could be to deceive: substitute the sister with a similar-looking girl if his demands are met.

He could also stage an escape in such a way that it preserves his reputation, either by making the sister appear more cunning than she actually was, or making it look like her tribe rescued her.

 

[bACK iN mY dAY]

Something else to ask - what's the story about? I mean, you've told us what the story is. But what's it all about? Because to some extent knowing that might inform you on where to go with this.

 

[Brandon S. Pilcher]

Something else to ask - what's the story about? I mean, you've told us what the story is. But what's it all about? Because to some extent knowing that might inform you on where to go with this.

The heroine is very protective of her sister since she's the last remaining member of her family after a tyrannosaur killed their parents. So if you're asking about the story's theme, I would say it's about familial bonds.

Anyway, I may have come up with a solution to my problem. Sometime after the villain and the mountain-dwellers kidnap the heroine's sister, I'll just have him sneak away from his allies to offer help to the heroine on the grounds that she'll become his mate.

Spoiler

I'm thinking his betraying the mountain-dwellers is what seals his fate for the worse.