For the DirectX9 install, did you have a real-time anti-virus program running? That can cause very slow installs.
For Divinity 2 in general it is better to put off doing the main plot quests until you have explored the area and done some or all of the side quests. Once you get access to the full Broken Valley, if you have explored everywhere in the starting section, then from the spot where you met Talana, there are goblins to the east along the mountain, and to the west and then up the mountain path, which would be easier than the level 8 and 9 opponents around the tower. Both goblin areas contain a hatch to the Derelict Tunnels, where you can get more experience and loot (there is a third entrance closer to the tower, in an area occupied by skeletons).
