On the way, they not only kill their targets, but poison an entire bank full of people in Westport, burn a bordello to the ground in Sipani, and play no small role in the fate of Styria as a whole. This includes: Caul Shivers, a Northman looking to make a fresh start Friendly, a number-obsessed ex-convict Castor Morveer, a self-congratulatory blowhard of a poisoner, and his constantly-eating apprentice Day Shylo Vitari, a former Practical and last, but by no means the least, the lovable scoundrel and drunkard has-been Nicomo Cosca.Īcross Styria, they systematically work their way through Monza’s list. However she can’t do it alone, so she enlists the help of an oddball carnival of psychopaths to aid her in her quest. Now the Snake of Talins wants vengeance against the seven men responsible Orso's bodyguard Gobba, his banker Mauthis, the general of his armies Ganmark, her treacherous second-in-command Faithful Carpi, his sons Prince Ario and Count Foscar, and finally Orso himself. Unfortunately for Orso, she survives the stabbing, mutilating, garroting and a brutal fall. Unfortunately for Monza, he has her and her beloved brother Benna thrown down a mountain.
She has brought victory after victory to her employer Grand Duke Orso of Talins, and become wealthy and popular as a result. Monzcarro "Monza" Murcatto is the notorious leader of The Thousand Swords mercenary company. And that means revenge.īest Served Cold takes place three years after the events of The First Law in Styria, a land of warring city-states reminiscent of Renaissance Italy, and is a tale of betrayal and revenge, plain and simple. And that's all before the most dangerous man in the world is dispatched to hunt her down and finish the job Duke Orso started. Her enemies number the better half of the nation. Her allies include Styria's least reliable drunkard, Styria's most treacherous poisoner, a mass-murderer obsessed with numbers and a Northman who just wants to do the right thing. Betrayed, thrown down a mountain and left for dead, Murcatto's reward is a broken body and a burning hunger for vengeance. Her victories have made her popular - a shade too popular for her employer's taste. War may be hell but for Monza Murcatto, the Snake of Talins, the most feared and famous mercenary in Duke Orso's employ, it's a damn good way of making money too. While armies march, heads roll and cities burn, behind the scenes bankers, priests and older, darker powers play a deadly game to choose who will be king. The ruthless Grand Duke Orso is locked in a vicious struggle with the squabbling League of Eight, and between them they have bled the land white.