Beggar ( Book ) Summary . Series . This book is part of a four - volume series named " The Adventures of Eslaf Erol " : Content . Eslaf Erol was the last of the litter of five born to the Queen of the prosperous Nord ic kingdom of Erolgard , Lahpyrcopa , and her husband , the King of Erolgard , Ytluaf . During pregnancy , the Queen had been more than twice as wide as she was tall , and the act of delivery took three months and six days after it had begun . It is perhaps understandable that the Lahpyrcopa elected , upon expelling Eslaf to frown , say , ' Good riddance , ' and die . Like many Nords , Ytluaf did not care very much for his wife and less for his children . His subjects were puzzled , therefore , when he announced that he would follow the ancient tradition of his people of Atmora of following his beloved spouse to the grave . They had not thought they were particularly in love , nor were they aware that such a tradition existed . Still , the simple people were grateful , for the little royal drama alleviated their boredom , which was and is a common problem in the more obscure parts of northern Skyrim , particularly in wintertide . He gathered his household staff and his five fat , bawling little heirs in front of him , and divided his estate . To his son Ynohp , he gave his title ; to his son Laernu , he gave his land ; to his son Suoibud , he gave his fortune ; to his daughter Laicifitra , he gave his army . Ytluaf ' s advisors had suggested he keep the inheritance together for the good of the kingdom , but Ytluaf did not particularly care for his advisors , or the kingdom , for that matter . Upon making his announcement , he drew his dagger across his throat . One of the nurses , who was rather shy , finally decided to speak as the King ' s life ebbed away . ' Your highness , you forgot your fifth child , little Eslaf . ' Good Ytluaf groaned . It is somewhat hard to concentrate with blood gushing from one ' s throat , after all . The King tried in vain to think of something to bequeath , but there was nothing left . Finally he sputtered , irritably , ' Eslaf should have taken something then ' and died . That a babe but a few days old was expected to demand his rightful inheritance was arguably unfair . But so Eslaf Erol was given his birthright with his father ' s dying breath . He would have nothing , but what he had taken . Since no one else would have him , the shy nurse , whose name was Drusba , took the baby home . It was a decrepit little shack , and over the years that followed , it became more and more decrepit . Unable to find work , Drusba sold all of her furnishings to buy food for little Eslaf . By the time he was old enough to walk and talk , she had sold the walls and the roof as well , so they had nothing but a floor to call home . And if you ' ve ever been to Skyrim , you can appreciate that that is scarcely sufficient . Drusba did not tell Eslaf the story of his birth , or that his brothers and sister were leading quite nice lives with their inheritances , for , as we have said , she was rather shy , and found it difficult to broach the subject . She was so painfully shy , in fact , that whenever he asked any questions about where he came from , Drusba would run away . That was more or less her answer to everything , to flee . In order to communicate with her at all , Eslaf learned how to run almost as soon as he could walk . He couldn ' t keep up with his adopted mother at first , but in time he learned to go toe - heel toe - heel if he anticipated a short but fast sprint , and heel - toe heel - toe if it seemed Drusba was headed for a long distance marathon flight . He never did get all the answers he needed from her , but Eslaf did learn how to run . The kingdom of Erolgard had , in the years that Eslaf was growing , become quite a grim place . King Ynohp did not have a treasury , for Suoibud had been given that ; he did not have any property for income , for Laernu had been given that ; he did not have an army to protect the people , for Laicifitra had been given that . Furthermore , as he was but a child , all decisions in the kingdom went through Ynohp ' s rather corrupt council . It had become a bureaucratic exploitative land of high taxes , rampant crime , and regular incursions from neighboring kingdoms . Not a particular unusual situation for a kingdom of Tamriel , but an unpleasant one nonetheless . The time finally came when the taxcollector arrived to Drusba ' s hovel , such as it was , to collect the only thing he could - the floor . Rather than protest , the poor shy maid ran away , and Eslaf never saw her again . Without a home or a mother , Eslaf did not know what to do . He had grown accustomed to the cold open air in Drusba ' s shack , but he was hungry . ' May I have a piece of meat ? ' he asked the butcher down the street . ' I ' m very hungry . ' The man had known the boy for years , often spoke to his wife about how sorry he felt for him , growing up in a home with no ceilings or walls . He smiled at Eslaf and said , ' Go away , or I ' ll hit you . ' Eslaf hurriedly left the butcher and went to a nearby tavern . The tavernkeeper had been a former valet in the king ' s court and knew that the boy was by right a prince . Many times , he had seen the poor ragged lad in the streets , and sighed at the way fate had treated him . ' May I have something to eat ? ' Eslaf asked this tavernkeeper . ' I ' m very hungry . ' ' You ' re lucky I don ' t cook you up and eat you , ' replied the tavernkeeper . Eslaf hurriedly left the tavern . For the rest of the day , the boy approached the good citizens of Erolgard , begging for food . One person had thrown something at him , but it turned out to be an inedible rock . As night fell , a raggedy man came up to Eslaf and , without saying a word , handed him a piece of fruit and a piece of dried meat . The lad took it , wide - eyed , and as he devoured it , he thanked the man very sweetly . ' If I see you begging on the streets tomorrow , ' the man growled . ' I ' ll kill you myself . There are only so many beggars we of the guild allow in any one town , and you make it one too many . You ' re ruining business . ' It was a good thing Eslaf Erol knew how to run . He ran all night . Eslaf Erol ' s story is continued in the book Thief .