How to Complete Free From the Hold in WoW: Forever (Barrens Escort and Ratchet Despawn Bug)

Free From the Hold is one of the best-paying quests a Horde player can grab in the eastern Barrens of World of Warcraft: Forever – almost 2,000 XP, a choice of armor and a big chunk of Ratchet reputation. The catch is that it's a long walk, and in Forever's first week several groups reported that Gilthares Firebough vanished right at the gates of Ratchet after a 20-minute escort. Here's where to find him, how the escort works and how to give yourself the best chance of finishing it.

This guide is checked against World of Warcraft: Forever as live on November 10, 2026.

Quick answer

Before you start

Gilthares is a prisoner of the Alliance, so he stands inside Northwatch Hold, the Theramore fort on the coast south of Ratchet. He's at the bottom of the captain's tower, surrounded by guards and cannoneers in the low 20s. Two things matter before you talk to him:

• Clear the fort first. The Northwatch soldiers are the real threat in this quest. Once you're out of the fort, the walk north is mostly quiet.
• Everyone in the party needs the quest before you start. Blizzard's rules for escorts are simple: every member must have the quest when the escort begins, stay within about 5 yards of the NPC until it completes, and both you and the NPC must stay alive. The quest can't be shared, so each player has to talk to Gilthares.

If you're Horde and around level 18–20, this is a natural quest to combine with WANTED: Bruuz, the bounty for a Northwatch officer in the same fort.

Step-by-step

1. Fly or run to Ratchet and pick up the flight path if you haven't. You'll turn the quest in here.
2. Head south along the coast to Northwatch Hold. Fight your way in and clear the soldiers around the captain's tower.
3. Find Gilthares Firebough at /way 62.0 55.0Copy. His story: he was a deckhand on a moonshine run between Ratchet and Booty Bay until Theramore zealots sank the ship and locked him up.
4. Accept Free From the Hold with every party member present, then let him start walking.
5. Follow him out of the fort and north along the shore. Stay right next to him. Any Northwatch soldier that sees him will attack, and so will Alliance players – once the escort starts, Gilthares becomes attackable by the opposing faction.
6. Keep pace for the whole walk. The run to Ratchet takes roughly 20 minutes. Kill anything that comes at him and keep him topped up with heals or bandages.
7. Arrive at Ratchet. The quest completes when he reaches safety. Turn it in to Captain Thalo'thas Brightsun at /way 62.3 39.0Copy.

The Forever despawn bug

On November 6, a player reported on Blizzard's forums that their group walked Gilthares all the way from Northwatch, only for him to disappear just before entering Ratchet – and the quest switched to "Failed". The same pattern has been reported for other long escorts that cross a zone or area border in Forever, including Freedom to Ruul in Ashenvale and the Defias Traitor in Westfall. A third-party bug tracker lists the issue as acknowledged but not fixed, with layering or sharding suspected but not confirmed by Blizzard.

As of November 10, it isn't listed in Blizzard's hotfix notes (the latest quest fixes are from November 6) and there's no verified workaround. What helps, based on how escort quests work:

• Don't break the group or change layers mid-escort. Join and invite people before you accept, not during the walk.
• Stay glued to him. Fall more than a few yards behind as he crosses into Ratchet and you risk failing your part of the quest.
• If he vanishes, abandon and re-accept. He respawns at Northwatch. It's painful, but the quest isn't lost forever.

We'll update this guide when Blizzard posts a fix.

Rewards

Pick one item:

Reward	Type
Buckled Boots	Leather feet
Riveted Gauntlets	Mail hands
Embroidered Leggings	Cloth legs – new in Forever

On top of that you get 1,950 XP (it drops off sharply from level 26), 25 silver and +350 Ratchet reputation. Forever added the cloth Embroidered Leggings, so casters finally have a reason to do this quest too.

Tips

• Go at level 18–20. The fort guards are no joke at 14–15, even though the quest unlocks at 13.
• Bring a friend. Two players can clear Northwatch faster and keep Gilthares alive if Alliance players show up.
• Do it on a quiet layer if you can. Fewer players mean fewer surprise pulls and fewer chances for something to go wrong at Ratchet.
• Clear ahead, not behind. Mobs near the path will aggro on him, so kill them before he walks past.

Common mistakes

• Accepting before the whole group is there. A player who picks up the quest after he starts walking won't get credit.
• Looking for him outside. He's inside the fort, at the foot of the tower.
• Turning in to the wrong NPC. It's Captain Brightsun in Ratchet, not Gilthares himself.
• Abandoning too early. If he's merely far ahead, catch up – only abandon if he has really disappeared or died.

Stuck on another escort? See Freedom to Ruul and Vorsha the Lasher in Ashenvale. Every guide is on our WoW: Forever quests page.