"What she wants to know?..." Horatio looks puzzled. "Like... it's a part of her mind or something? Her thoughts? Maybe we'll come across more like that... pieces of her mind. Maybe that's what is meant when they say Zybilna is trapped here... like, her mind is trapped in a bunch of crystals. We'll probably find her actual body frozen like the rest?" Either way, Horatio looks slightly mortified by the gem. "How did they even do all this?" He looks around, a faraway expression on his face. "Nothing about the Hags has been this powerful. We've punched their faces in and they've not used any magic like this on us... I feel like... like we're not even talking about the same criminals..."

He struggles to find his words for a minute, then continues, "I worked in a town a while back that was a rough and lawless as any. There were these gangs, several of 'em, and they did all manner of wrong to folks around - especially passers by. I stood up to a guy who tried to steal my tools. Knocked him right out! Thought that was the end of it, but it wasn't. Then came some corrupt 'constables', and they told me flat out what the score was. It weren't the gangs that were the real threat. They were just what everyone could see and had to deal with. It was the local Count's bastard son. He'd been running amok, organizing the gangs and intimidating the small folk for years. His father, for whatever stupid reason, looked on. The town was small and the county was large and wealthy... maybe he just didn't care? Either way, the real villain was actually powerful. The law thought of him as connected to the Count, and folks knew he was a noble's bastard and that the father basically condoned what he was doing. To act against him would likely get you killed by the Count, or any lawman trying to curry favor with him... It was trouble on another level, they told me. With that, I kicked both their heads in and fled to another county. I guess that's what this feels like. Like the Hags were just the scary gang leaders, but that there is someone much worse pulling their strings."

Ben:

”Very possibly.  We should be careful,” agrees Ben.  

“So, would you like me to open the door you heard noises behind?” he asks, “or are we going to try and have the familiar tie off the knight so we can try to reel him in or at least secure him in case time starts back up again.”

Where to? What next?

“What do you guys think? There’s several doors down this hallway. This door could lead to a giant room. Or maybe several small rooms. I dunno.”

Pud bites his lip and looks over at Elkhorn. 

“Maybe we should help Elkhorn’s friend first? Just in case we run into trouble, at least he’s safe.”

Ben:

”I like that idea.  If Rizzo can fly one end of the rope to the knight and securely tie it to him, we have options.  If we can pull hem over to the stairs, great.  If he is immovable, we secure the other end of the rope tightly to the staircase so that when time restarts he will hang from the stairs and not plummet to his death,” replies Ben.

"Sounds good. Let's do it."

Pud signals for Rizzo and she swoops down and hovers in front of the crew. Pud gives her directions to take the rope, fly over to the knight and tie a knot around their waist. 

Matilda nodded in agreement.

Titaani watches this unfold excitedly..

"Yes!" agrees Elkhorn, emphatically. "Strongheart's a good man. A champion. Kind, fearless. He absolutely deserves our help, if we can help him."

Rizzo takes the 50' coil of rope and delivers it across the open void to the frozen body of the plummeting knight, who was clearly hurled through the wall a mere moment before the castle was frozen. Draping the rope over him, Rizzo carefully wraps him and ties a knot as best it can. Rizzo Intelligence (Sleight of Hand) knot check: 15.

There's just enough rope to reach the top of the staircase to the jewel room.

Presuming someone next attempts to tug on it, you find Strongheart appears to be rather stubbornly stuck (although you're welcome to make a Strength check to test it.)

There's barely enough slack left to tie it off around the small merlon defining the edge of the staircase. Somebody may roll an Intelligence (Sleight of Hand) knot check to do so.

Ben:

”He may well be frozen in time out there, but let us see if a good hard tug loosens the knot or sets it better,” says Ben, setting his feet and bracing for a smooth but heavy pull on the rope.

Strength:  23

Ben strains and pulls with all his might. As the tension builds, you fear that the rope may snap. And then...

Whaaap! 

The knot slips. Ben falls backward (prone, onto the stairs), coils of the rope falling half upon him (the rest dangling down toward the maelstrom).

(Even with Ben's 21 roll, Strongheart is not budging.)

Rizzo dutifully picks up the loose end of the rope, flies back out, and reties it. Rizzo Intelligence (Sleight of Hand) knot check: 6.

Ben:

”indeed, let us make sure the knot is secure,” responds Ben, getting up and preparing to go again.  Now he pulls not to move the knight, but instead to test the knot’s capability to hold the weight of Strongheart and all his gear.

Chuckling, Ben says, “Well, Pud, for all we know your spell will take effect on Strongheart once time starts again and he will be magically whisked away to safety.  Just in case, let’s do this until the knot holds.”

"Are you ok, Ben?" Titaani asks, moving over to the paladin. "That fall looked like it hurt."

Ben:

”Just my pride,” says Ben with a warm smile for Titaani, “but better me falling now than Strongheart falling and the knot not holding when time restarts.  Let’s keep going until we are sure the knot is secure then tie it off as best we can to the staircase.”

Matilda looked out there, " I can try and Jump out there and tie the knot...I'm probably better at it than Rizzo...."

" There's a non-zero chance I'll misjudge and die though..."

( MY account is currently effected by this- https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/bugs-support/204199-friend-cant-post-on-forums-or-pms so all I can do is edit existing posts.)

Ben pulls again with a steady force, and this time it holds. He soon assures himself that the rope will likely hold should gravity restart for the frozen champion.

Ben:

“I can pull it tight, but I’ll need someone else to tie it off on the merlon,” says Ben, holding the rope in position.

"I can do it!" Titaani responds, then looks confused. "Wait, what's a merlon?"

Once somebody points out a merlon to her, Titaani may roll an Intelligence (Sleight of Hand) knot check to tie the other end of the rope down.

( Damian_Mays backup account-  My account is currently buggered like quite a few others and when I post or PM I get this-  " You can only make 1 post every 1 sec.")  I have reported and will try and muddle through until they can fix)