Seems like a strange plot hole to have though as this is the catalyst for the whole adventure.
Page 9 gives the best answer... Mokmorian wants stones from the four Hellfire Flumes, to get Conna to determine which is from the grave of Xaliasa, so that he can destroy it later and gain special favour with Karzoug.
So, Mokmorian has told the raiding parties to secure them, but without a major incident with the natives.
However, the raid party leader, Teraktinus, doesn't like the natives, and has got all his group ready to conduct a bit of loot and pillage as well, leading to the raid.
In my view Teraktinus is ultimately the problem for Mokmorian, and then Karzoug. If he'd have followed the orders correctly, he most likely could have got the stone needed with any major confrontation, meaning no raid, and no real reason for the PC's to follow them back to Jorgenfist, and onto Mokmorian. The stone giant armies would march, and probably succeed, and Karzoug would come back and very bad things would happen...
Silly giant! :)
1) Payback (for the Scribbler double crossing him) and
By the book, Mokmorian didn't really know Karzougs reasons around Xaliasa. It only says that Xaliasa had something to do with Runeforge, and the place needed to be levelled.
Mokmorian was just following orders. Probably safe to guess that M would assume that its something to do with payback, but he wouldn't know about the double cross...
In any event, you can give him whatever reason you like :)
This leads me to the same question: WHY does Karzoug want to destroy the place?
It doesn't make that clear...
You're an ancient, mad, evil wizard and you discover that a guy you considered loyal was a double (or even triple) crosser. So you want to feed your not-so-small ego and turn him, his dog, his house, and the whole place into SMITHERINESS ASAP MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
That's a good a reason as any... :)
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OK, after reading a bit more. Karzoug knows that Scribbler had a thing for, erm, scribbling and so he has a well-founded reason to suspect that some clues as to the Runeforge might be located at Scribller's final resting place. In order to prevent anybody (and bear in mind that at this point Karzoug is likely not really much focused on the PCs) from getting to that info, he asks Mokky to take care of that during one of his scouting forays.
And as long as the giants would have followed the correct plan, any reason would have done.
Whats the likelyhood that your groups PCs are going to find out exactly for what reason the raid took place?
So basically Karzoug has no reason to take the rocks from Old Light in Sandpoint other than to alert the PCs to his existence and give them a means and reason to come get him. Not the best plan for a super ancient wizard that desperately wants to come back to Golarian.
I know you have your answer already, but I wanted to throw in one more thing...Karzoug couldn't care less about the PCs. Remember his final statement: "This is the best you can come up with in ten thousand years?" Ancient, evil, super wizards have a tendency for hubris.
I suspect if they are captured by Karzoug they will be put in a ridiculously slow-moving, certain-death trap, subjected to a soliloquy, then left to die. (See Austin Powers, or any of the TV Batman, or James Bond...you get the idea.) Just kidding, the Karzoug in my campaign will follow the soliloquy with a mass disintegrate, muhahahahahaaaa!
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The payback scenario doesn't seem to work (and payback for what? What did Scribbler do to Karzoug?)
Read the beginning of #5 again. The Scribbler was a double agent for Karzoug. He infiltrated Alaznist's forces and was stationed at the Hellfire Plume, but was captured and gave up Karzoug.
Likewise, I'd guess that Big K didn't tell M why he wanted the site destroyed, or that he planned to go back later and dig him up, Wish him alive again and torture him for his betrayal.
the Karzoug in my campaign will follow the soliloquy with a mass disintegrate, muhahahahahaaaa!
My Karzoug will do roughly the same, its good to play overconfident nutcases :)
Cibet44 got his answer tho :)
I've never been that fond of this fight. I think putting Sandpoint in danger is great and all, but since we will return to Sandpiont in the next chapter I'm not sure how much this fight does for the story. It also informs the party of the army, but to me that doesn't have the impact that a fully formed army on the move would have. My plan right now is to really extend this section of the adventure using Red Hand of Doom as a template. I may or may not have this specific fight in my game, I haven't decided.
That said I always thought the idea is that M was trying to find Runeforge, which in my head is lost to everyone. So he isn't there to destroy the area, but to clear it out and research. In addition to htis group there are also three other groups out there seeking for information. I understand that might be me interjecting something that was never there, but that makes more sense to me. Hope that helps.