Michael J. Caboose Advice

RP Advice
Pick up on the arcaneness. Your character's profession in Mercathia may give him a silly attitude, but try to become a bit more sagely and intelligent. Regard your intelligence score when making RP based choices. I hate to point you to a book character, but the famous Ed Greenwood character Elminster from the Forgotten Realms books has this same sort of attitude. He's a sagely old man, and yet he is humorous and lighthearted, giving rise to many excellent RP scenarios. Try to emulate this.

Metagame Advice
Since your gear really doesn't matter, this section is going to be devoted to spells. I'll update what spells you should take as we progress.

Level 2 Must Have Spells
 * Continual Light: You get this spell, and we never need torches again. It creates a literal globe of light that lasts forever.
 * Levitate: Not only is this spell useful for reaching that ledge up there, but the 20 foot ascention per round can be useful for escaping attacks. Not only that, but you can use it to levitate an enemy off a cliff, or into lava, or high into the air before cancelling the spell. Albeit, they get a saving throw, but it's always worth a shot.
 * Strength: This bad boy makes any player that bit stronger. More strength equals more loot to carry home and extra damage if you increase it enough.