Yeah I figured :P

I decided to just block out rift travel entirely until the player loads a save game.

IF
GlobalEventSet("TheEventThatLocksTheWP")
THEN
SetHomesteadKeyState(0);

IF
SavegameLoaded(_,_,_,_)
AND
DB_GlobalEvent("TheEventThatLocksTheWP")
THEN
SetHomesteadKeyState(1);


I think that's better than using a janky item for fast travel using dialog nodes.