I've read that if you don't pick them up at the FAI "fast enough" they leave forever.
How long do you have to grab these two Harpers?
How long will Jaheira and Khalid stick around?
How long will Jaheira and Khalid stick around?
"A life is not important, except in the impact it has on other lives."
-- Jackie Robinson
Baruk Khazad! Khazad ai-mênu!
-- Jackie Robinson
Baruk Khazad! Khazad ai-mênu!
The answer lies in the script for the Friendly Arm Inn (AR2301). If I understand correctly, it doesn't matter how long it takes you to meet Khalid amd Jaheira at the Friendly Arm Inn as long as you go there in Chapter One or Chapter Two. I just did a test and they were still there after 38 days. If Khalid and Jaheira are still standing inside the Inn and you enter the room in Chapter Three, they will leave the area. Chapter Three begins when you finish the Nashkel Mines. I'm guessing that someone could stop them from leaving by putting a modified AR2301.BCS file in the OVERRIDE directory.
I just did some testing with cheat codes and found some interesting results. I started a new game and transported my character to AR2301 and saved the game. Then I used a cheat code to set the game to Chapter Three. Khalid and Jaheira walked off immediately, as expected. Then I reloaded and accepted them into my party. When I dismissed them, they stayed where I left them inside the Friendly Arm Inn. But when I set the game to Chapter Three, they walked away again. This means that you can't have them join your party in Chapter One and then leave them inside the Friendly Arm Inn and expect them to be there for you in Chapter Three. Actually, the consequences are even more severe than that. According to my testing, if you dismiss Khalid inside the Friendly Arm Inn in Chapter Three, he will leave the area without Jaheira. If you dismiss Jaheira inside the Friendly Arm Inn in Chapter Three, she will leave the area without Khalid. I think what this means is that you should never try to leave Khalid and Jaheira inside the Friendly Arm Inn after Chapter Two if you want to get them back later. I'd have to do some more testing to make sure.
I don't know if the same script is present on any other maps. The script checks whether they are in your party, whether they're standing in the area (outside of your party), and whether you've finished Chapter Two. I once accepted Khalid and Jaheira into my party in Chapter One but left them in Beregost before I went to Nashkel. When I came back to Beregost in Chapter Three, they were gone. I don't know if the Friendly Arm script had anything to do with that, or if it was because Khalid and Jaheira's personal timers had expired. (Jaheira expects you to go to Nashkel in four days or less, and Khalid expects you to go to Nashkel in twelve days or less, according to their scripts.) On other occasions, when I've left NPCs standing in the rain, they've disappeared and reappeared later. One time when I dismissed Kivan, he stormed away because I hadn't killed Tazok and I thought he wasn't coming back, but when I came back to that area later, he was there. NPCs who have scripts or timers seem to be a little buggy.
I just did some testing with cheat codes and found some interesting results. I started a new game and transported my character to AR2301 and saved the game. Then I used a cheat code to set the game to Chapter Three. Khalid and Jaheira walked off immediately, as expected. Then I reloaded and accepted them into my party. When I dismissed them, they stayed where I left them inside the Friendly Arm Inn. But when I set the game to Chapter Three, they walked away again. This means that you can't have them join your party in Chapter One and then leave them inside the Friendly Arm Inn and expect them to be there for you in Chapter Three. Actually, the consequences are even more severe than that. According to my testing, if you dismiss Khalid inside the Friendly Arm Inn in Chapter Three, he will leave the area without Jaheira. If you dismiss Jaheira inside the Friendly Arm Inn in Chapter Three, she will leave the area without Khalid. I think what this means is that you should never try to leave Khalid and Jaheira inside the Friendly Arm Inn after Chapter Two if you want to get them back later. I'd have to do some more testing to make sure.
I don't know if the same script is present on any other maps. The script checks whether they are in your party, whether they're standing in the area (outside of your party), and whether you've finished Chapter Two. I once accepted Khalid and Jaheira into my party in Chapter One but left them in Beregost before I went to Nashkel. When I came back to Beregost in Chapter Three, they were gone. I don't know if the Friendly Arm script had anything to do with that, or if it was because Khalid and Jaheira's personal timers had expired. (Jaheira expects you to go to Nashkel in four days or less, and Khalid expects you to go to Nashkel in twelve days or less, according to their scripts.) On other occasions, when I've left NPCs standing in the rain, they've disappeared and reappeared later. One time when I dismissed Kivan, he stormed away because I hadn't killed Tazok and I thought he wasn't coming back, but when I came back to that area later, he was there. NPCs who have scripts or timers seem to be a little buggy.