When your resist hits 80 or so, cast protection on yourself. If you're not a mage, you'll need someone to make you two protection scrolls, one to put the spell on, the other to take it off. Protection lowers your magic resist, thus allowing you to gain faster.
I've never had a problem finding 8 or so spellbinders, though you do sometimes have to go and hunt for them. I used a boat, that works too