Recklessly trying to prove himself, the young and ambitious scholar apprentice Victor Truelock embarks on a quest to learn more about the runic inscriptions that provide unexplainable magic to the man-made wonders of the world, from stone arches to the newly developed machinery and its dark and thick smoke.  In his path for independence and strength, he forgoes his family's wealthy support and takes to the road with nothing but the help of the unreadable and money-hungry disgraced monk, Roman.  But when the money runs dry and Victor picks a fight with the wrong crime boss, he is forced to use his hard-earned knowledge for violence, in order to save himself, and to accept alliances from the most unlikely bunch of misguided outlaws he has ever met: a paladin of a forsaken god, sentenced to die by hanging, a cursed girl with a devil residing within her soul, a two-faced sorceress with questionable intentions and a starving warlock caught in a contract with a blood lusted demon.  As he explores the city he is trapped in and finds ways to evade the crime boss who offers dreamlike promises of bounties for his head, Victor learns that the runes are carved much deeper than merely the surface of his world. [Participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge] An feel-good, adventure-focused, DnD-inspired party of main characters, fast-paced found family story about friendship, overcoming your own limits, hard-work, defeating evil, saving people and learning about magic. And having fun. Loads of fun.