So I was trying to speak to Zarys and there are 3 ways to get up there. No matter which one I chose, it was considered trespassing and combat ensued. Doing some shenanigans I did manage to speak to her, but even though she thanked me and supposedly payed me twice, I got no money and the interaction didn't seem to register in the game.

She even told me to look her up in BG, but I still can't get up there without starting a fight and the trader still tells me he needs the okay from her to sell me the good stuff. Well, I want the good stuff.

Edit: Apparently you can get into combat with everyone even if some zhent who is patrolling the 'restricted' area and is for some reason already hostile, passes close to where the others are and '''''sees''''' you.

The work around for this.... is to cast invisibility on someone, unchain them and send them up to her and have them push her off the ledge down into the "safe" area. Then talk to her with your other companions (conveniently waiting for her down in the "safe" area) before she makes her way back up.

For now... pushing while invisible doesn't break invisibility. (another bug). Nothing like fixing a bug with another bug...

Near the middle ladder right under her, I jumped on the big box and managed to initiate dialog from below. But still got nothing for it.

It's deliberate, I think. The dialog for the tortured man and the corpse on the lower level doesn't match the actual situation, so it looks like the current inhabitants are not Zhenterim, or are rogue members of the organization. The massive trap with the oil and smokepowder also suggests the current owners are not legitimate.