Ben:

”For what it is worth, the Pixies appear to be guarding the cages, not fighting Zargash,” says Ben as he looks for some method to get the cages onto land.  Perhaps a walkway that extends out, a gaffer hook, or maybe just a rope with a grappling hook.  He reasons that if the cages can be brought down low, then pulled over land, lowering them further would allow them to rest on the land instead of plunge into the murk.

Perception:  9

Returning to the group, Horatio adds, "Well, can we touch them? You know, like, take their things? That evil-looking guy might have useful weapons, armor, potions... I don't know. Maybe those wands would be useful. Plus, if we find the Queen frozen like this, and that becomes the thing we have to fix, then what if all these folks unfreeze too? We should disarm everyone, and get that guy away from the cage levers. Just in case he was out to kill those trapped folks wrongfully. Of course, if you just want to kill him, we should strip him then push him into the puddle. See what it does."

Ben examines the suspended cages from the ledge. The cages have no visible doors or locks, nor is there any obviously engineered method for lateral movement. The chains holding the cages are only designed to move up and down. How the prisoners were put in the cages, or how they might be taken out of them, remains a mystery.

That said, a well-placed hook could probably draw a cage to the edge of the ledge if it were lowered and then hooked and pulled.

Horatio looks at Zargash, the prisoners, and the guards for what they carry. Zargash wears the amulet and  tightly grips a quarterstaff. He also has a warhammer strapped to his side. The elf and the demon carry nothing. It's hard to see what the unshaven man is carrying, as he is suspended quite high (40'), but he might have something - a weapon? - strapped to his belt. The pixies each carry a tiny wand. (Make a perception check to notice anything further.)

Ben:

Having used his spear (or at least a piece of it) to wedge open the door, Ben asks, “Does anyone have some rope?  I can use this sickle as a way to try and grapple the chain above a cage and pull the cage over so we can lower it to the ground.”

Horatio offers Ben his rope, and assistance pulling. 

Titaani starts as if just remembering something. "Oh! I don't have rope but I can summon a magical hand, if that's easier!"

Matilda begins to look worried that they may be badly misinterpreting things and might make things worse...

" I think we should leave it....maybe the queen put those people in the cages for a reason."

Ben:

”Fair enough,” replies Ben to Matilda, “But we can try with an empty cage.  Pud, if you can lower an empty one down to 10 feet up, Horatio and I can try and snag it and pull it over to the ground.  In the meantime, we can get this Zargash—who we know is evil—stripped of his items and weapons, then bound and gagged, we can put him in the empty cage.  When we rescue the queen, she can judge him.  What do you guys think?”

”And Pud, if you want to lower them all to 10 feet up, maybe we will get lucky and recognize someone so we can separate friend from foe,” adds Ben as an afterthought.

"Fine by me." Horatio replies. 

Titaani summons a glittering purple mage hand. "I'll use this to help you guys hook onto the cage."

Two initial problems arise with the plan:
1) The cages have no doors. There seems to be no way in or out of them short of bending the sturdy bars.
2) Pud soon discovers that the levers do not do anything. Evidently, the mechanism that raises and lowers the cages will not work in their current time-stopped condition.

Titaani discovers she can swing them normally from their chains – at least the single cage she can reach with the 30' range of her mage hand (the one containing the demon). 

"I bet those wands open the cages." Horatio observes. "And if everything is frozen, why is that carpet able to move?" He looks accusingly at it. 

Ben:

”Short of us being able to fly and retrieving the wands to test that theory, Horatio, I think all we can do in this room is take care of the creature we know to be evil,” responds Ben, moving over to Zargash and starting to strip off items that can easily be removed.

Zargash suddenly springs to life. "Nope," he says, before Ben can touch him, and transforms into a misty cloud. (You realize he's simply been pretending to be frozen in time like the other creatures here.)  He drifts upward and out over the sludge pool. He's soon drifted about 10' toward the center of the pool and 10' up.

Horatio shakes his head in frustration, casting a quick doubtful glance at the rug once more. "You with him then?" He asks. 

Ben:

Momentarily recoiling, Ben calls down holy flame on the cloudy miscreant in the form of moonlight!

[spell]Moonbeam[spell], DC 14 Con save for half, shapechanger bane:  6

Unsure whether it would have any effect Matilda threw her magical blade at the cloud.

Attack: 15 Damage: 8

"Aaah!" Titaani lets out a shriek, dismissing mage hand immediately and falling backwards in fright. "That nasty trickster!"

Initiative? 16

(( Initiative: 13 ))

Ben calls down a silvery beam of pale light (5-foot-radius, 40-foot-high cylinder) centered on Zargash filled with dim light. Zargash is engulfed in the ghostly flames.
DC14 CON Save: 8. (Alas, he is no shapechanger.)

Running forward to get closer, Matilda throws her magical blade at the drifting cleric. It hits, passing through his gaseous form, but cutting him sharply nonetheless. Her blade clatters onto the far ledge on the other side of the pool.

Elkhorn pulls his own blades out, and tries to duplicate Matilda's success:
Dagger Attack #1: 14. Hit: 4 piercing damage. 
Dagger Attack #1: 11. Hit: 2 piercing damage.