I suppose a script misfire sounds like a likely explanation. I think the hireling was within visual range, but I am not sure. It was quite some time ago, and I only discovered that a) I still had that bloody journal and b) the sidekick's quest stopped progressing. Because I was nearing the end of ...
I'll get straight to the point: you're supposed to give the quest items to your hench(wo)man, right? By simply dragging-and-dropping it onto him or her, I figured. Well, it just tells me I can only give potions to hirelings, and not other items. Since it's the original ...