Ubiq, I'd like to thank you so much for that detailed story and especially the survival tips! I never knew how to avoid the bogeymen before. So I just had to try it out, loaded up the save, and then managed to survive several days by camping in the mountains and caves!
I started around the same area as you did and then more or less followed your route. Even found the remains of the helmet snakes, I think. I then lost a foot to a giant bat in a cave and then dragged myself to nearest human town, Evenedlions, to search for a crutch. On the way there I got ambushed by a pack of dingos but amazingly managed to kill them all, thanks to martial trance. I reached the town when it was already dark. Explored the town the next day and found nothing but fruits for sale. Found the cathedral and the keep next to it. Explored the upper levels of the keep, found no crutches, so I went downstairs, opened a door and got jumped by a bunch of kobolds! I think I managed to kill two swordskobolds while being pincushioned by the kobold bowmen. I had like 8-10 arrows sticking in me when I finally suffocated. Why do humans allow a kobold camp to exist in their keep's basement?
Anyway, thanks to those tips I survived for days, covered about 1/4 of the trip you made and got over 30 kills. I just might have a chance to reach the mountainhomes when it's actually my turn. Saying this aloud, I probably get killed by a groundhog in the first day :p
Also, Legends Viewer is a must once you learn how to use it. Makes navigating around a lot easier.