Go to either the Sentinel or the Warden, they appear friendly. Talk with one of them (at a time), it takes maybe a couple of seconds for the quest to to its thing, and then they attack you. Defeat them, and it will say "____ is investigated." Then do the same thing to the other NPC.
The auto-quest box seems to be bugged at this point. Left-click on the quest list and it will show the panel for completion. Click 'Complete quest'. At that time you will be able to open the box and continue as normal from there.
Pins are the quest’s own POI points from the current retail client, projected onto the in-game zone map. The game marks one blob as the quest’s turn-in; the rest are objective areas. Points that fall outside a map’s window are dropped rather than guessed at.
Quests whose map markers the client places closest to this one on Badlands, nearest first. Distances are straight lines between the markers.
Getting there
Alliance flight points closest to the quest’s first objective area marker on Badlands:
Dustwind Dig, BadlandsAlliance · about 340 yards north
Fuselight, BadlandsAlliance and Horde · about 560 yards north-east
Dragon's Mouth, BadlandsAlliance · about 880 yards west
Straight-line distances in yards between the quest’s own map markers (QuestPOI) and the client’s flight-point positions (TaxiNodes); flight paths and terrain are not modelled.
As you place the statue in its place, several other stone statues appear in the room. One more ruby-colored statue also appears, in a small enclosure on the far end of the room. You hear a voice: "The Sentinel watches. The Sentinel protects.
Maps its steps are placed on (steps per map): Badlands (53).
Steps of this storyline count toward:
Badlands QuestsComplete the Badlands storylines listed below.
Steps, storylines and map placement from the client’s QuestLine, prerequisite and QuestPOI data; neighbouring quest text is Blizzard’s own (quest API), shortened to its opening sentences.
Other versions of this quest
2 quests carry the name Ancient Protectors. They differ in the faction shown here.