OK. So I also got confirmation that the intruders that the goblins and Sazza and Minthara are talking about were Aradin and his group. I spoke with more goblins in the camp and confirmed it. They mention how Aradin and his crew broke in to the goblin camp and Brian got caught and is roasting on a spit. One of them is on the torture rack. So they definitely were the intruders.
I understand that Ragzlin and Minthara and pretty much everybody is after the weapon. Ragzlin even interrogates the mind flayer to gain that knowledge. There is a great reward for the thing, and that is their ultimate prize. I'm just still finding it unclear as to why they think it's in the grove, why they want to destroy the grove, why they care about it at all, why it would be a great victory for the Absolute, and why, if the grove was so important to Minthara to destroy it, and she was looking for it before, and if the goblins attacked it so many times as was suggested in this thread, why does Sazza act like she's never heard of it... and other goblins too. "They was in some rickety grove," she says. If Minthara had sent troops to find and attack the grove in the past, shouldn't Sazza say things like, "They was in that rickety grove you've been looking for." Shouldn't the goblins be like, "You found the grove, Sazza? You know where it is? Finally! Minthara's going to be real pleased."
But maybe Minthara wasn't looking for the grove originally. Maybe she was just sending the goblins to the crash site and the goblins found the grove and attacked it while looking for the weapon. Then maybe Sazza was captured and the rest of the goblins killed. But wait! If Sazza believed that "The Looters" were the ones who stole the weapon, why would she believe they were in the grove? Who in the grove did she think stole the weapon? Sazza says, "Ah... well. The thing about that is... they sorta massacred us," meaning that Minthara's prey massacred her and her raiding party. And who would have killed her raiding party? Druids? No. More likely the tieflings at the gate, assuming that Sazza was apart of a different raiding party than the ones that chased Aradin and his team. But notice what Sazza said. "They woz in some rickety druid grove! Mostly full of tieflin's, but them intruders you're after were hidin' out there!"
So Sazza is pointing out that it is "them intruders" that Minthara is after that are her prey, not some looters from the ship. After all, why would anyone call the looters from the ship "intruders"? They weren't intruding upon the goblin camp. Only Aradin and his crew were intruding upon the goblin camp. So then it only makes sense that Minthara's prey is Aradin and his group.
But why the heck would she care so much about them? Did THEY steal something truly important like the weapon?
Either way, it's just not making total sense to me. I'm still left wondering, "What the heck is Minthara's true target and objective? Is she after the weapon only? Is she after the weapon and Aradin and his crew? Is he out to destroy the grove, or is the grove just a side quest? Did she really send out multiple raiding parties and none of them came back? Why did Zevlor freak out that Aradin had led the goblins to the grove when none of them escaped alive? If that raiding party that you fight IS the only raiding party, why does Zevlor say there were multiple attacks on the grove? Why do all the tieflings freak out so much about the goblin raid as if it was massive and there were goblins streaming in from all sides? Why does everyone seem to think you are the hero of the grove, as if it wasn't for you the grove would be doomed? I mean, even Kagha thanks you for saving the grove. It's like a hundred goblins were at the gate and you slaughtered them all."
I just keep going back to all this because I REALLY want Larian to be more clear both in the EA and in Acts 2 and 3 when it comes to things like this.
