The Royal Guardsmen escorted the Guardians of Golarion to private quarters within the palace.
The next day, the guardians met Quilindra, a half-elf bard who shared the quarters with them.
Quilindra told them that the quarters were a magical prison filled with wards and illusions that kept them locked in.
Quliindra was imprisoned by the Winter Council after investigating Lord Villastir, who she discovered was reporting to the Council. Her partner had been looking into Lord Villastir and died under mysterious circumstances.
The Guardians escaped with Quilindra, fighting off the illusions and compulsions as well as two large stone wasp golems.
Quilindra led them to a nearby aiudara, the Lotusgate. She admitted to having memorized the locations of several gates, and by taking them they would be able to reach the secret base of the Winter Council, a keep in the demon-infested Tanglebriar swamp called Thorn's End.
The first stop was Galtgate, hidden in a cavern under several ancient fir trees in Boarwood. The region once held a small but majestic set of temples dedicated to the elven gods, but during the period of time when the elves were gone, Taldan soldiers razed the temples to the ground. Distraught at the loss of the temples, the elves chose not to rebuild here, and now used the surviving cathedral-like caverns that once served as the temple’s storerooms as a staging ground for long-term observation of the nation of Galt. Galtgate itself was located in the central cavern, a large, 200-foot diameter chamber filled with softly humming crystals, floating motes of multicolored light, and a dozen stone bunkers.
After a surprisingly warm greeting from the elven guards, Quilindra told the Guardians of the upcoming gates they would be traveling to. The next one would be Icegate, north of Irrisen, and home to the Snowcaster elves. Snowcasters were an isolated group of elves that did not take kindly to anyone other than other Snowcasters.
Beyond that was Lichgate, an area of true concern. Centuries ago, the elves maintained a small stronghold
called Mirianath in remote woodland in northern Ustilav. Lichgate was unique among the aiudara of the network in
that it led to the lost region of Kyonin under the influence of the demon Treerazer—no other aiudara remained active that led to this region. The elves of Lichgate were charged with the task of guarding this portal but were under strict orders not to venture through it into Tanglebriar beyond. However, something went wrong and the elves fell. Rumor has it that they had been turned into banshees. Quilindra warned that the banshees would be a deadly problem, and if they did not prepare for it the Lichgate may be as far as they would go.
