I tried 8 recently and got filtered soon after the monastery.

1. Are you supposed to rest after every single battle?
2. How can I advance if there are lots of huge groups of enemies patroling the only path?
3. Did I gimp myself by only having one offensive spellcaster that can cast area spells?
4. How far was I from the first town?
5. If someone dies this early in the game, is there anything you can do or is it better to just restart?