Player assumptions worked for me this time. They actually talked to some of the NPCs! I had a couple folk jump headlong into the pit as the party arrived. So, they immediately set to work, trying to save the rest of the cultists by locking them in a Magnificent Mansion. But not against their will, except one, that tried to jump while they were talking and they knocked him out. They got the children and about half the cultists into their mansion. Way better percentage of actually talking to NPCs than most other encounters.
Then they flew down into the pit. Taking it all in as they descended. Being appropriately confused at the number of bodies at the bottom not matching the number of jumpers. Quickly finding their way into the “dungeon” proper. And almost as quickly figuring out that proper skill checks were not the way to go. They’ve had some fun doing things poorly to navigate the chaos maze of tunnels. It’s entertaining to watch high level characters purposely fail. Our little metal cleric has been reveling in being able to be as loud as he wants on stealth checks. Looking forward to flipping the script back in the next set of levels.
My mobs have given them good fights, too. Having different types of monsters makes the battles more interesting. And having sufficient enough numbers to pose a challenge. I printed out images of each set of monsters for the fights. I’m always confused by the descriptions they give, so this way we all know what they’re facing. Hitting the end of the campaign and finally getting it right. Hehe. Just kidding, but it is going quite well. Nervous about the final epic battle, it’s going to be a lot to track.
But for now, they are considering a short rest and I have to decide how that might go. Three levels “done” and six more to go.