Hello!
talysman's advice is good. First, talk to the villagers. Note that their text about the capital and the surroundings are not sorted, so you get repetitions even before you have heard everything they have to say. Also ask them about service (= quests), so that you know where you don't want to go. The quests are always sorted by distance and there are no repetitions. Note, however, that you initially only get quests to kill vampires, werebeasts, bandits, and similar. Dragons and other big guys are not given as quests, so a lair that has no quest mentioned may actually be more dangeours than you care for.
Once you have informed yourself about your surroundings, press 'Q' to see the overview map of your location. Personally, I suggest that you initially try to get to a human town ('+', '*', or '#' - all in light gray on black) of your civilization (I assume you are playing human), because you can sell the bones, skins etc. of animals you hunt there and at the same time buy armor or whatever else your equipment may be lacking. Towns (and hamlets) usually also have a source of drinking water (a river, brook, or a well) and you need to find shelter at night, so they are good bases for operations.
So as not to get into trouble, you should initially avoid filled in circles (=lairs/caves), '#' in black on gray, or anything purple. In the left upper corner, you have a "radar" pointing out the directions of the closest important places, so you can use that to navigate.
Before starting to move, you can also press 'T' to see the surrounding area a bit closer. This is travel mode, and you should leave it via '>' before you start moving. I suggest that you stay away from purple/dark grey areas, as they are evil biomes and contain a lot of dangers.
I hope these hints are kind of understandable.
Yours,
Deathworks