another update:
i just decided i wanted to try and just avoid both the farmhouse AND the cave, and i went to the next town down the road.
guess what?
more crashes to desktop.
i am starting to get the suspision that whenever the game is supposed to go in to a in-game cinematic type thing where characters talk and what-not, (dont know the real name for these) the game crashes to desktop. how lovely.
arg.