Underkeeper

Bernt graduates from the Mage Academy with dreams of glory, but without wealth or connections, he ends up as an Underkeeper in Halfbridge’s City Maintenance—a dead-end job for magical rejects. At least it’s stable. With his illegal, soul-devouring familiar by his side, he scrapes together coins for adventuring gear, hoping to escape the grime of sewers and maintenance tunnels. Then opportunity crashes into his life—not as a reward for patience, but as trouble. Powerful factions take notice of the unlicensed mage with a demonic secret, dragging him into schemes far beyond his paygrade. Now Bernt must navigate a world of intrigue and danger, where every choice could mean salvation or ruin. The only question is: can an underpaid magical janitor outmaneuver forces that could crush him like a bug?