I think I'm past that part... I'm in an area where Bellara suggests going left first. There are four corners with inscriptions about different quarters of the ancient elven city: bronze quarter, steel quarter, etc. Near each there's a battle with a Cursed Elf. At the top center there's a gate that says I need 4 Evil Tokens to unlock, which I can get by defeating all the cursed elves. I've defeated them all and have 4 Cursed Tokens in my inventory but I still get the same message and the gate won't open.
Thanks for your help with this! I really appreciate it.