Back in the days before the ML Quest system came in, you could escprt as many rescues as you could pick up, PLUS one from a city.I picked up FIVE on Trinsic Barrier island, all going to places north (Britain, Cove, Minoc, Vesper). I also picked up a town escort wanting to go to Britain from Trinsic.
This was on a PALADIN. No Magery.
I walked them all the way to Britain, dropped off the regular escort and one rescuee. I then walked the ones remaining through britain, and up the road towards the Bog of Desolation. En route, I picked up another prisoner, wanting to go to Vesper.
Note that, by this point, I had already done what others insisted was impossible at least TWICE. I got escorts to cross a server line without gating them (south of Britain gate, and south of the Bog). Didn't lose a single one. (the secret was, and still is, not letting them get more than 4 or 5 steps from you as you cross over, and be on the same elevation).
Rounding the bay, I delivered two of them to Cove, then turned back north, around the north side of the mountains, with 3 escorts (all rescues) in tow. I find ANOTHER prisoner, rescue him (luckily he wanted to go to Minoc). That put me at 2 minoc deliveries and 2 vesper deliveries.
Just my luck, the Minoc rescue delivery that had followed me from Trinsic timed out and vanished a half-screen from the delivery spot! But, I delivered the the other one quickly, and walked as fast as I dared to vesper with my last two; one of which I knew would disappear any second, having also been with me from Trinsic.
To my surprise, the Rescue from south of the Bog and the rescue from Trinsic both made it to Vesper, and I'd gotten all my deliveries for the day, plus extras.
In a strange sort of way, it was actually fun shepherding them all the way there.
Now, you can only escort one at a time (though rescues don't have the 5-minute timer like normal ones), and go through public gates. The server line between minoc & its moongate is still a little buggy, though, and it is still possible to lose escorts on it, a lot more than any other server line (probably from the uneven terrain). But you got to try HARD (aka outrun your escorts) to lose an escort anywhere else on a line (I once tested it, and it took being over a half-screen away, or repeatedly bouncing back and forth over a line like an idiot, to lose an escort).