Sounds like any escort mission in FFXI. Just terribly bad.

Can't get too close to the NPC. Can't be too far from the NPC... Can't let the NPC stare at you directly. Can't let the NPC die. Oh, by the way, he's so weak he dies in like 5 hits from fighting anything, and yes, he will try to fight any goblin in his path.

You pretty much have to get another player to enter the zone pre-emptively, and kill everything in the NPC's path while you "escort" him.