I also basically skipped over most of Act 1's content, because again, the game acts as if you're gonna die soon. So it would be silly from a roleplaying perspective to worry about random secondary quests. I thought the group would soon learn that they're immune to the parasite or whatever, maybe after speaking to Nettie, and from there i would be free to go do what i want or pursue the main quest.
Any attempt at immersion is basically impossible.
This game is best enjoyed if you don't take everything too literally. Most RPGs seem to pull this "you need to hurry, doom is upon us!" shtick, but it is always fake. You are better off exploring everything, otherwise you will end up under-leveled and under-equipped.
The writing around the artifact is indeed quite messy.
