Can't get past Gorim's Store - repeated freezes

I am trying to run the game on an older but reasonably well configured Asus gaming laptop, which seems to meet the game's published specs. I did get one crash fairly early on, but this seemed to be fixed by turning down the graphics quality, as advised by the 'the game was not properly shutdown' dialog. I have completed the single-character tutorials, and my party has been given its first assignment, with the initial 'task' being buying food and other supplies for the trip. I go to Gorim's store, complete a few purchases, and attempt to close the store screen, at which point the game freezes and terminates. This has happened twice running, and is getting to be more than a bit of a bore!