[M]: "Counterattack"

Well, maybe I'm missing something. But the problem is basically described as follows: "I don't see any way to go further, either by sea or by land, beyond the red passage castle. The portal doesn't work, and there are no 'evil warlocks' around." The castle, as I understand it, is the Outpost. Beyond that, it's a dead end (the portal doesn't work, and there's no sea route to inhabited land either). There are no Astral Gates.