This twelfth installment in the series is all about The Unseen Empire and the class [Witch]. As a reminder, Laken is the blind Earther [Emperor], who named his girlfriend Durene as his [Paladin] and the [Witch] Wiskeria as his [General]. After getting their asses kicked by the goblins and [Chieftain] Rags, Laken added his newly built trebuchets to the human army pursuing the goblin [Lord] before realizing that he and the goblins were being used to conquer the city of Liscor. So he rounded up the surviving goblins and headed home. In the meantime, Durene has finally recovered from her terrible injuries, but she's still afflicted by terrible self doubts and confusion. Wiskeria feels that she has always been a poor [Witch], and is an even worse [General], despite the fact that their defeat was largely due to a well timed betrayal. Now the [Witches] are forming a special coven to meet with Laken and ask for his protection against the [Hunters] that are killing them. Seven of the most powerful and unique [Witches] have come to join Wiskeria, including the oldest, most powerful, and notorious of all, Wiskeria's mother.

We met Wiskeria shortly after the village of Riverfarm acknowledged Laken as their Emperor, but didn't learn much about her class beyond their penchant for wearing pointy hats. While they are loosely organized into covens that might work together for a particular ritual, each [Witch] is unique based upon what they choose as their "craft". This is a complex concept that includes both the emotional power a witch collects and how she uses it. This brings a lot of discussion about which emotions are stronger or more limited in scope.  Ryoka, who came to Riverfarm at Laken's request to help Durene, is fascinated by the witches in general and Wiskeria's mother Belavierr in particular. She starts out trying to understand Belavierr to facilitate a reconciliation between mother and daughter, but Belavierr's personality is so strange that she's determined to figure it out despite Wiskeria's warnings to avoid her mother and to never ever accept her help or agree to anything with her. We soon see why when one of the villagers makes a bargain with Belavierr that horrifies everyone, including some of the other witches. The [Witch] is definitely one of the most interesting classes Pirateaba has introduced us to with both positive and negative aspects and a well defined class culture.

In addition to the [Witches] the Unseen Empire is facing several other problems while it's [Emperor] is still days away. There is Riverfarm's first resident [Thief], [Bandits], and weird strangers up to no good as well as that insidious evil known as [Politicians]. That's assuming that there's even a Riverfarm to return to, because between the [Bandits] and their [Pyromancer], Belavierr, and fallout from the Siege of Liscor, there may not be much left by the time Laken arrives with carts full of goblins that are sure to calm things down. As for the actual Inn itself and its residents, Pirateaba looks in on them only briefly, but more than one of them discovers something new about themselves.