I, too, have had trouble connecting. It's been going on for almost a week now. Hopefully it sorts itself out before long.

As for the Hilt. You might gain some details from the Conata post a while back where they went through. I basically imagine it as a crater with a bunch of forests and streams going through, with of course the big tower in the centre and the metal djinn guarding the place.

Thankfully, since Conata sorted them out, they're not overtly hostile and quite Lawful Good now.