TheWoWDBYou can complete this quest pre-cata if you don't stray too far into Uldum. As long as you don't leave the hallway leading into the large room you should be able to kill enough of these guys to finish the quest.
Quest
The Crumbling Past
A World of Warcraft quest in Tanaris. Facts and objectives from the current retail game data.
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The enterance to the Uldum is 37.75,80.62. Watch out for the giant Guardian that comes out after you turn in the quest at the chest.
Enter the Ruins of Uldum (37.7/78.9) and kill the white mobs (Sandstone Earthen) kneeling along the edges of the entrance path (along the walls). They will drop the Earthen Jewel needed to complete this quest. You will sometimes have the ability to loot the mobs, but get the message that there is no loot. Found this to be quite odd, as if there is no loot, then the loot mouseover shouldn't even appear.
Quest facts
LevelLevel 15-30
ZoneTanaris
Quest ID25068
The client quest POI data records no map location for this quest, so no map is shown.
Check whether you have already completed this quest
in-game: /run print(C_QuestLog.IsQuestFlaggedCompleted(25068))
Description
The creatures wandering these ruins are Earthen, the ancient ancestors of dwarves, made by the Titans to shape the world itself. The original Earthen broke down and went awry thousands of years ago, and these freshly uncovered ones seem no different. We may as well make use of these confused and unstable constructs. Enter the ruins and destroy the Earthen, and collect the jewels embedded in them; their magical energies will be both valuable and worthy of study.
Community notes from Wowhead · 5 comments
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Money10 gold50 silver
Experience4,100 XP