What character do you have? I managed to take him with my survivor around the same level - dropped a Death Scorpion (immediately after his 'speech'), ran to a corner of the cave & killed the Trolls using a bow. The scorpion/s take alot of the attention away from your character, & you still get experience from their kills - gotta love 'em <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" /> .
I also find it handy use the pause key - slows down the combat enough to give commands eg re-positioning, drink potions etc.
If you haven't got the Deadly Gift skill I'd definitely recommend at least one skill point - the Black Market guy in Ars Magicana always sells scorpions (if you haven't turned him in!).
