Larian Studios Forums Divinity - Original Sin Divinity - Original Sin - Enhanced Edition Zixzax stuck at Hall of Heroes portal

Hello,

Zixzax is stuck at the Hall of Heroes portal saying I need to go through the portal and see what's on the other side.
Things I have tried:
1. Going through the portal and talking to John Smythn, duh. Zixzax acts like I still haven't.
2. Using a Blood stone (I have 3 Inert Stones and 1 Blood Stone). The Rift Travel button flashes green but Zixzax is still at the Hall of Heroes portal.
3. Going to Cyseal and back to End of Time.
4. Various combinations of 1., 2., and 3.
5. Attacking Zixzax with only one of my guys. (I am level 10 and he wipes me.) As soon as the guy's dead, Zixzax goes back to his spot by the portal and the little dialogue of "Well, aren't you going to leap through?".
6. Rebooting my PC, reloading the game, etc.

End of Time is not under attack. No other portals are active except Observatory and Hall of Heroes.
Moreover, I can discuss finding a great hall beyond one of the portals with the Weaver.

P.S. I have 2 lone wolf characters. I cannot invite any additional companions and use the Hall of Heroes in any meaningful way other than chatting to the John guy and looting.
P.P.S. Enhanced Edition on Steam. Not my first playthrough, never had issues with this before.

Please help! What am I missing??

In the Hall of Heroes, you need to speak to Astarte, sitting at the table (about half way down, on the opposite side with the default camera angle). After that, return to the main section of the homestead through the portal (a main character needs to be in the lead to trigger a comment then, but you don't have any companion characters, so that won't be an issue).

Thank you kindly Raze, you're a legend. (And I'm an idiot).