How do I get down to the sewers at the at the first town at the beginning of the game? I've looked everywhere and can't find the entrance. The elevator shaft in the gear room locked up on me and so it won't take me down. Is this s glitch or is there another way? Thanks.

If you want an answer you might have to go into further detail, like which class are you playing as? It's been awhile since I pushed through the campaigns of all the characters, but I'm hoping you mean the warrior xD

In the event that you are a warrior:
Check the front door of the palace this should trigger a sidequest of go kill some stuffs to get an official recommendation which leads to:
Check to see that you've completed the gauntlet.

If you've completed those steps then:
The elevator should not have locked up, but could you have bumped into the switch that triggers lighting effects? That switch is connected to the "power", so it might be that you bumped into that lever on the way through and turned off the elevator perhaps?

If not, then it sounds like a glitch that I wasn't able to reproduce.

I've just completed a playthrough as a wizard. This is what I did. I talked to the owner of the first and biggest tavern as you enter the town and go to the wizard tower, I forgot the name. He mentions something about theft and robberies. I also went to the captain of the guard of the prison and then I received another quest entrance in my journal. If I remember correctly, there is a small corridor In the neighbourhood of the church. If you follow that, you'll get to a very small and secluded area with a few boxes and barrels. Smash them, and the sewer entrance will reveal itself!

Hope this will help, enjoy the game!

If you are playing as a warrior you have to do the Gauntlet first. Then a guy outside the temple will mention the guy getting locked in the sewer underneath. You then go to the gear room with the NPC following and s step on the elevator and down you go. The NPC will get stuck above and you just work your way round and down till you find the missing engineer.