Quest bug Legacy of the Vaal: Return to infested barrens and activate stone alter

ACT 6 - Cleared Jiquani's sanctum and got the large soul core only to drop it in town on accident,the core instantly vanished from inventory and now I can't get a new on to drop. Mechanic to place the core at alter work but the water doesn't drop to progress onto the next part of the story. Stuck for 2 days now with this issue. Tried piggy backing on another player to progress but have had no luck. I won't make a new character as I have time invested in this one.