I assume you haven't played Baldur's Gate or Icewind Dale? The combat system is pretty much the same as in those two games.
The combat system takes a while to get used to, especially since you can't choose a class early on. You start out as a fighter, and can then become a thief or a mage later on. If your current stats are mage like stats (high intelligence, low strength for example), Morte will be outperforming you in combat until you learn how to be a mage. If you have fighter like stats, you should be doing better than Morte soon.
What class do you intend to play by the way? That very much affects how you should focus your stats and combat style. The one thing I can say is this: Do not drop Wisdom as a stat, regardless of what class you play. Wisdom is used to talk your way out of a LOT of situations, in addition to giving you a significant experience increase, making it a lot more useful than Charisma.
Edit: Oh and welcome!