2. If the rune doesn't appear, then you'll have to find another Castle and hope that it will be there. Also, at the first opportunity, buy Ingu in the tavern and level him up a bit; maybe he'll learn the necessary rune?
Besides, it would be wise to first check what runes are available in the Castle, and if there is no resurrection rune, then don't choose the "Fight to the Last" ability.
3. Dwarves start with archers, even though they don't deal as much damage, the crippling wound is very helpful, and at the same time, the Dwarves already have the much-needed "Soldier's Luck" skill! (it seems this skill was created specifically for dwarves; there's claw attack, wound, fire sign, and stunning of giant killers). And another big plus is the presence of an ammunition cart, without which the archers' shots end embarrassingly quickly, which allows you to save a little.
And the tent, although it helps to conduct some battles with neutrals without losses, doesn't give a very big bonus in a battle directly with the opponent.
Still, and this is the opinion of many, Ingvar is also very good. But I wouldn't say that he is 100% stronger than Karli, and, by the way, harpooners have quite decent damage, and they are still level 2 troops, and besides, they are archers, which means it's not easy to defeat them either.