"I didn't really think about that.." Titaani shifts her feet nervously. "But once we meet the queen we can give these back to her ourselves, can't we?"

" Is there anyone not frozen in this place that can tell us where she is?", Matilda queried.

Titaani: Make another Insight check.

Where to? / What next?

Ben:

Considering, Ben says, “We are trying to rescue the Queen, and these items may be part of the key that opens the way to her.  Let us not claim these as our own, but merely carry them as tools to aid in our rescue—to be returned as soon as whatever their mysterious purpose is fulfilled.”

Insight: 5

Pud steps out onto the bridge but stays put as he notices that we found another dead end. He stands pat and searches does his best to look at the surrounding turrets and castle structures looking for doors or a signs of life. 

Perception: 23

"So.. are we thinking the gems are magical somehow then? Like keys? Maybe we should put them back, but in each others' spots. Maybe they were just in the wrong keyholes?" Horatio offers. 

Titaani picks up the translucent white jewel and holds it to her eye. It is warm to the touch. She can feel that it is arcane in nature; indeed, she somehow intuits that this jewel represents Zybilna’s crystallized desire to show kindness to the destitute and unfortunate. Looking through it seems to accomplish little other than making the world look milky and dreamlike.

Pud takes a broad and careful look at the towers and surrounding castle from the vantage of the staircase transcending the courtyard. The vortex churning below the central spire is clearly not frozen in time, but the palace and everything in it might well be; he can see motes of dust suspended in the air in front of him. There is no movement anywhere. He could possibly jump down onto the unexplored balcony to the west (it'd be a 15-foot standing jump and a painful 20-foot fall onto the hard marble floor), but if he missed and fell short, there appears to be no bottom to the swirling vortex. Likewise, there are other balconies which could be accessed – or windows to break and enter below each turret – but they would likely require flight to reach. He sees some odd specks or sparkles suspended in the air on the north side of the central spire, but they are too far away to see any detail.

"Oh...oh wait..This isn't just a normal jewel," Titaani pauses, lowering the gem. "It's almost like...like it's a part of Zybilna's heart, or her desires, in crystal form. That's amazing! Sorry Pud, no new goggles for you. I don't want to accidentally hurt Zybilna."

Ben:

“Perhaps reuniting her physical form with these gems will restore her, or give her the power to break the temporal magic,” surmises Ben.

”Let’s head back down and try the spiral staircase,” he suggests.

Matilda nodded to Ban and headed down.

Ben and Matilda, followed (I presume) by the rest of the party, descend the open staircase over the Court of Storms and then climb the spiral staircase with the golden handrail up to the second floor. The chamber is empty. A set of double doors lead south.

"I wonder where this leads," Titaani says curiously, opening the set of double doors and looking around. 

Perception: 2

Titaani steps out upon a high balcony, overlooking the beautiful palace garden.

Where to / What next?

Shrugging, Titaani moves back inside. "Does the staircase go any higher?"

Pud steps out onto the balcony with Titaani and admires the view.

DM: Can we see that dense forest surrounded by circular walls to the southeast? or is it obscured by the walls?

Matilda also steps out, " I think we should explore downstairs more......we need to find someone who knows this place that's not frozen..."

Titaani looks back; the staircase goes no higher here. They are at the top of this tower.

And yes, from here, Pud can see a little bit into the 30-foot circular tower to your southeast. It has no roof, and you can see a canopy of dense trees within. 

Pud stands on his tip toes and spots dense forest rimmed by the castle walls, but no way to get in!

He runs back to the group.

"What are we missing? Maybe we can check the other stairwell where we found the green crystal? There's also that other tower over by that axe stuck in the stump."