Dying in Witch Woods

[txmimi]

I'm on my 3rd attempt to make it through witch woods alive to try and kill the witch. Various creatures will repeatedly and randomly kill 1 or even 3 of my characters with one blow, no matter how I've fought them previously. The 3 main characters are levels 45, 46, and 40. with the pets ranging from 26-37 and Coryool and Batabog around 35-36. I've been back to the port twice to level up, but still can't get to and past the witch. Any tips for me?