Definately bring in a fire sabre as well, the higher level the better.
I have the Flame Axe, is that good enough or is the sword better? I have all of the weapon books currently available so I can make a lot of stuff... if I can find the right materials.
I have some gold material, is there something useful I can make with it?
I suggest bringing in a monster with you if you plan to do that
You can take monsters with you? I haven't caught any yet so I don't know what all could be done with them.
I don't know what level I'm at, I think somewhere in the forties. I'll have to check.
I'll be honest, I haven't crafted the fire axe so i'm not sure. I believe it has a high attack power rating so it might be good, however I prefer the blades for the wider attack range. Does a regular attack from the Flame Axe break the glaciers that block your path? If not, then its not worth it since traversing the dungeon at your level without getting killed will require some speed (hence the monster tip, more on that later). The flame saber, although a little slow, has a wide swing so you can position yourself to swing so that you not only break a glacier but attack an incoming enemy and keep them at bay. Little strategies like that will help you survive.
Also, i know you're not farming in the dungeons but have you thought of growing at least grass? You can use the rune crystals to replenish your RP, letting you use more special attacks, letting you take down enemies quicker, letting you level up faster.
As for gold.. I honestly don't remember what sort of items you can craft from it, so spend some time checking your recipes and figuring out what you can make from it. Visit the lava ruins often to stock on on higher level gold (i believe special attacks from your hammer raise the probobility of a higher level item drop) and do yourself a favor; before you craft anything, be sure to check the levels of all your other ingredients! There's no point in crafting something with a lvl 9 peice of gold if everything else is at lvl 1.
Yes, you can take monsters out with you. I wouldn't advise capturing anything now, while you're in winter, unless you happened to grow a lot of grass during spring/summer or can afford feed from Eric's shop. Monsters get fed automatically as long as they have fodder (ie cut grass) but every day they don't get feed, their friendship with you lowers. Taking them outside with you and visiting certain parts of towns, or dungeons, helps raise their friendship level with you. The higher the friendship level, the better they are all around:
they work more efficiently in your feilds, they supply you with better produce (buffamoos give milk, woolys give wool, etc), or they're hp/atk/def levels go up (i think..).
Any more info i can give to you?