[Pirengle]

"I turned down his offer of protecting Silke because it sounded like too much of a divergence from what I'm supposed to be doing, but then I read that this is completed rather quickly and, afterwards, you can have Garrick join your party. I'd like to do this now, and get him helping us out with a composite long bow, but I can't get him to offer me the job again. Can't even get into chat mode with the T key. Is there any way to get his offer again, or do I have to just forego it?"

If you turn Garrick down, not only will you not get the quest, but you won't get Garrick either. Might as well reload from a save.

"And, if I can ask a follow-up question, the assassin Karlat wasn't in the Jovial Juggler Inn. Will he be there later in the game, or not?"

Karlat is not in the Jovial Juggler. Try searching other establishments in Beregost. You'll know he's there right when you enter the building.

(NOTE: Please, for the love of God, don't clarify that! The reason I don't post often on this board is because somebody will ask a question, not specify if they want to be spoiled or not, somebody like SixofSpades gives him/her a hint or clue about the answer to the question, then somebody else, thinking SixofSpades doesn't know the answer, posts the entire solution, and sometimes without a spoiler warning. This is irritating, to say the least. So stop and think about this before you decide to post a reply stating Karlat's exact whereabouts, how to kill him, what stuff he drops, etc.)

Lecture over, let's continue.

"(Duke Hereward's spoiler)"

Nope. Doesn't work. Silke is still waiting. Only Garrick can set the subquest in motion.

"Why on earth would you want Garrick when there are so many other fabulous archers in the game? Coran and the ranger dude just to name two???? Garrick sucks."

Well, maybe if you were playing BG from a roleplayer's standpoint, Garrick might be a good idea. Sure, there are many other good archers in the game. Heck, there's even another bard. Yes, his stats stink. He isn't even proficient in bow--he starts out proficient in small swords and missile weapons. Thanks to mediocre strength (14) and even worse constitution (9), you wouldn't want to put Garrick at the front lines unless you wanted chunky salsa for some reason.

When I include Garrick in my party (a must for all the neutral parties I create), I usually give him a +1 sling and bullets, +2 chainmail, and either a Ring of Energy or Necklace of Missiles. He has a low chance to learn spells, but I try to get him to learn area spells like Grease and Web. In battle, Garrick stands towards the rear with my other ranged fighters, tossing his stones, firing his entrapment spells when necessary, and most importantly, Bard Songing his little heart out. What a neglected effect! IIRC, it improves party defense and saving throws, every bard comes with Song, and can be used multiple times per day (but it doesn't stack, understandibly).

The neat thing about BG is that every NPC serves a purpose if you take the time to figure it out. Another good reason to have Garrick in your party is that he plays off many NPCs, including Xzar, Xan, Alora, Quayle, and Tiax. If you want soap opera romance in your party, there's an NPC couple in BG that Garrick is involved with.