I tend to start with characters, but everyone does it differently. There is no magic formula for the right order to write things in. Vivian Vande Velde has some good advice on her website about getting started writing a book.
The Ragpicker King is the sequel to Sword Catcher. In it, Kel — now fully embedded with the Ragpicker King and his crew — tries to solve a mystery: Who’s responsible for the murders in the Shining Gallery? If someone’s plotting against Castellane, who is it? And why is the woman he’s loved since he was a child, Antonetta Alleyne, determined to marry a monster?