My players have cleared out the Yakfolk village and have made their way down into the mines. They went in extremely cautiously, luring the first salamander guard into a tunnel with the help of some slaves where they were able to down him before he had a chance to act. Second Salamander guard in the mines notices his buddy hasn't come back after checking on the slaves, so he orders the remaining slaves back into the forge while he calls for another salamander to help search the tunnel the first had disappeared in. This second encounter was not able to be kept quiet, as one of the party members used an upcast thunderwave.

We are picking up in a few days with them in the mines, having freed 6 of the slaves and preparing to move deeper into the forge. I'm positive that the forge is now "on alert" but I'm struggling as to how that affects daily operation. Obviously the slaves wouldn't be allowed to just be out in the mines anymore, but surely the forges must keep running in some capacity? My first inclination is that Duke Zalto would send out a strike force to deal with the unknown assailants, as the only news that has made it back to the forge is that a few prisoners have escaped and 3 guards are gone, presumed dead. Either that, or I'm tempted to set a trap just outside the entrance to the mine, or try to have . I also feel like at this point Zalto would send someone up to check on the Yakfolk village, and when that is found to be a burning ruin, an even more concerted effort to clear the mines would take place.

I'm definitely rambling a bit at this point, what I'm really looking for is advice on how to shift the operations/roster of Ironslag to represent the element of surprise being lost, as the book is rather bare on details.