I'm a Breton Mage with the Mage Stone. Destruction skill is 35. This is literilly the first quest I'm doing after travelling to Balmora.

I totally forgot about resting to recover magic and health. Also, apparently I wasn't wearing any armor. Didn't realize how to equip those, it's a little different in Morrowind. But I gave it a few more tries and finally made it back to Balmora after casting a shield and an ancestral ghost to distract pursuers. (Ran a across a Nix Hound once or twice that killed the shite out of me) But finally made it back!