TLAS2 Chapter 1 The Hook The Lone Adventurer

Last season, on the Lone Adventurer, the House of Whispers agent Mina Montisario and her companion Cadmus of the Church of Ankhra, learned of a Piperunner plot to destroy the city using vast quantities of high explosives. Working alongside her sworn enemies, the deranged terrorist Cult of the Great Machine, she was able to thwart the Piprunners plans, but not the plans of the Cult. They remain intent on bombing the city, and in particular Mina’s own wedding, a high society event organised by her scheming cousin Alexis, new head of the House of Whispers. 

This wedding, an alliance between Houses Montisario and Toreth, is intended to shore up both houses’ interests in the face of a deadly new threat; the mysterious criminal organisation of shapeshifters, known only as the Unseen, has made a direct attack on House Montisario, killing the previous Whisperer. This, and the destabilising impact of the Cult’s bombing campaign, has thrown the uneasy alliances that exist between the city’s countless factions into chaos, and the city now teeters on the brink of all-out civil war. 

And throughout, Mina’s steps have been dogged by a mysterious Visitor. This man, Valerian, is part of a shadowy espionage organisation led by a woman known as the Spider. Their motives are shrouded in mystery, but they appear to be set against the Cult and the Unseen, and have attempted to use Mina as a pawn in their game. Mina had hoped to draw them into her own plans against the Cult’s attack on her wedding, but the Visitor could not be found. 

We’re about to find out why.