could be that the storyline isn't complete yet. As you said, new options were added as of the latest patch, so maybe there is still some hope for poor Arka the grieving tiefling.
2 years later and I just came up on her body myself while playing Baldur's gate 3.... I was confused as well and agree with the OP.
So just as I suspected; Arka and Memnos indeed do have a completely different outcome after their encounter with Sazza and both are actually intended to be present for the Grove siege.
Which makes this whole story arc so disappointing and the main reason why I completely avoid Sazza's quest in majority of my playthroughs. Because Arka's corpse otherwise stands as a permanent monument of failure and a reminder that she is dead because of me.
Because triggering their encounter with Sazza causes their disappointingly unavoidable deaths completely devoid of player choices or actual meaning, so made me feel responsible every time I triggered it. However by ignoring the encounter completely until the siege begins, Sazza dies and they both live and actually get the encore they're supposed to get. I had no clue. I did notice if I save Sazza that she rats out where the grove is and the grove gets attacked so now reading your post I am 100% I would never suggest that anyone even go in that area that Sazza is in .. unless invisible and looting the barrels which only have crap or nothing in them anyway.
Because triggering their encounter with Sazza causes their disappointingly unavoidable deaths completely devoid of player choices or actual meaning, so made me feel responsible every time I triggered it. However by ignoring the encounter completely until the siege begins, Sazza dies and they both live and actually get the encore they're supposed to get.
So I'm quite happy knowing that Arka's story has a proper conclusion and that there is a very big chunk of it missing in-between the events. I'm sure the encounter will be properly fleshed out eventually, it was just very strange to me how it presented itself as a whole story.
I saved the grove and still found her dead. That was even MORE disappointing
