"Presence of the Enemy" Quest Resets Mid-Fight

Time: 10:50am EST
Frequency: Every time
World name: Excalibur
Character name: Beaven Navarre
NPC name: N/A
Monster name: 3rd Cohort signifer
Class/Level: 34 Gladiator
Party or solo: Solo
In-game time: 12:00am
Area and coordinates: East Shroud (19,26)
Steps:
When entering the darkened area that spawns 3 to 4 Cohorts in the quest "Presence of the Enemy", the mage Cohort is outside of the "battlefield". Running up to him will abandon the fight, which causes a new darkened area to respawn immediately. As soon as you step foot back inside, a new set of enemies appears. This happened 3 or 4 times for me until I realized what was going on.