I'm just about to get the last regeant for Aribeth and have not hired a henchman yet. I have all their items though. As I understand it, once I take the item back to her, I'll be leaving town. Do I need to hire them before I return the item or will they all be available again in the next chapter/destination?
Thanks.

They will be available in the next chapter, but you have to complete their chapter 1 quests in chapter 1. Also, its been a while since I did the NWN OC, but I don't think they are available in the chapter1 finale, so you will want to hire a henchman before that starts if you want any assistance in that area.

Yes, take any henchman you wish to use with you, otherwise you'll have to make it on your own.

And you do *not* want to do it alone your first time through.
However, there is some good news.
You don't have to go to the finale immediately after you give Aribeth the reagent. Simply tell her you're not ready, find all the henchmen, and speed through the dialogues...
And by the way, yes, the henchmen are in the next chapter, but you need to complete these quests first to get them to trust you.

Thanks all. I just cleared the prison level 1, so I have a little bit yet. Just thinking ahead is all.

But now you're freakin' me out!

I will probably hire all of them so I can run through the dialogues, etc. Any suggestions as a henchman for the finale? I am fighter 5/mage 1/ranger1. I've just started feeling comfortable dualing in stud +1 now that my attacks have increased a bit, so I feel pretty confident in that department.

Linu.
a) A healer would be nice
b) One of her... other abilities.. will be MOST useful.