Why are there a couple of humans living in the goblin camp? How did that come to pass? Why aren't there more? I want to hear that story.
Because of the Absolute. That's also why the goblins are cooperating with the Gnolls.
Oh, I get "because the Absolute" as a high-level answer. But how did they and Edowin get roped in? Were there more people in their group/family that didn't come along? How do they feel about working with a bunch of goblins? Were they promised something for playing along? Were they approached by the goblins or the drow? Someone else? Whta did they give up in order to be here? Are there others like Edowin that didn't agree to come along?
"Because the Absolute" is simultaneously true and very unsatisfying. If I have a character that is trying to deal with a weird situation and keeps hearing about this unknown powerful figure that is clearly connected to that situation, I'm definitely going to be interrogating people who know more than me. Assuming that the goblins were largely already connected as a tribe, these two humans stick out like a sore thumb - they must have a really interesting reason for being here. "Because the Absolute" is not interesting.
On the nautiloid is a study of goblin society, insinuating the Absolutists have made intentional research into how to to best take over and control the tribe. Edowin was likely infected in an earlier batch of infecteds, possibly along with Niara and maybe even the hobgoblin and the goblin witch. I'm guessing Niara is new because her dialogue with the goblins make it seem like she hasn't been commanding them very long. Edowin likely came from the Dark Towers place (I don't remember the name. You know what I mean) where the rest of the Absolute cult seem to be, probably arriving with Niara. The humans in the goblin tribe come in two groups: Edowin's two followers, whose loyalty to Edowin makes it seem to me that they are his followers first and foremost and likely recruited to the Absolute Cult by him or sent to the tribe with him from the Dark Towers (you can talk with these to at the goblin camp if they survive the Edowin encounter, but I can't remember what they said, if anything); and the two humans watching the Hobgoblin's speech in confusion and who seem to make no head or tail of the situation, as if they have no idea what they're even doing there. This makes me think they haven't been there long either, possibly being part of Edowin's and/or Niara's entourage.
If you ask me, the True Souls we might encounter in the Dark Towers, as well as the ordinary cultists we meet there, are likely to be humanoid rather than goblins.
This is all extrapolation of course. Just leaps of logic, hopefully not too far.
