Have you tried drinking a few temporary boost potions (whatever you have) before grabbing the ring and trying to leave?
Have you finished everything else on sentinel island? You could teleport back to Broken Valley to finish off anything left there, and head to fjords to level.
A similar situation:
Orobas Fjords tribal chief problem.
Are you using the sword and shield expertise skill? That has a better damage bonus than the straight one handed sword expertise, and the animations are almost as fast.
If you are using your creature to help, or as a distraction, I found a ranger head much better than a warrior head when clearing the start of the fjords, and switched to a mage head as soon as I got one.