The quest writers have never played the game. That's why the thing you think you should do ... literally /ponder while targeting the mob ... is not the right thing to do. Try just hailing the orb (and in general, hail). Ignore the flavor text from the writer of the quest who doesn't actually play the game. Edit - In case someone wonders why I'm slamming the developers ... in any other game where there exist player emote commands like /ponder or /dance or whatever, those words would be special and not used in quest language unless the words meant you were to do those "reserved" words. Most playing the game, particularly at the endgame would know these words and assume like the OP did that it meant something when used in quest language. But it almost never does.
