Regarding the race against time, it seems like adding an exhaustion feature would solve the whole problem. No matter how urgent the situation is, if you have to rest then you have to rest. That would force the camp scenes to unfold.
It's just a matter of timing the exhaustion so it's not too often/annoying.
+1. Before you reach the grove (after finding Lae'zel and/or after exploring the crypt), the game should give party members a few levels of exhaustion to
strongly encourage you to long rest. Even have party members initiate conversation saying how they understand the need to rush but they can't go on; they're too tired. This would transition very well into the "everyone feels sick at camp" cutscene, then waking up much better and realizing that everyone is *not* transforming according to the normal ceremorphosis timeline.
