King ( Book ) Summary . Series . This book is part of a four - volume series named " The Adventures of Eslaf Erol " : Contents . Gentle reader , you will not understand a word of what follows unless you have read and to memory the first three volumes in this series , Beggar , Thief , and Warrior , which leads up to this , the conclusion . I encourage you to seek them out at your favorite bookseller . We last left Eslaf Erol fleeing for his life , which was a common enough for him . He had stolen a lot of gold , and one particularly large gem , from a rich man in Jallenheim named Suoibud . The thief fled north , spending the gold wildly , as thieves generally do , for all sorts of illicit pleasures , which would no doubt disturb the gentleman or lady reading this , so I will not go into detail . The one thing he held onto was the gem . He didn ' t keep it because of any particular attachment , but because he did not know anyone rich enough to buy it from him . And so he found himself in the ironic situation of being penniless and having in his possession a gem worth millions . " Will you give me a room , some bread , and a flagon of beer in exchange for this ? " he asked a tavernkeep in the little village of Kravenswold , which was so far north , it was half situated on the Sea of Ghosts . The tavernkeep looked at it suspiciously . " It ' s just crystal , " Eslaf said quickly . " But isn ' t it pretty ? " Let me see that , ' said a young armor - clad woman at the end of the bar . Without waiting permission , she picked up the gem , studied it , and smiled not very sweetly at Eslaf . ' Would you join me at my table ? " I ' m actually in a bit of a hurry , " replied Eslaf , holding out his hand for the stone . ' Another time ? ' ' Out of respect for my friend , the tavernkeep here , my men and I leave our weapons behind when we come in here , ' the woman said casually , not handing the gem back , but picking up a broom that was sitting against the bar . ' I can assure you , however , that I can use this quite effectively as a blunt instrument . Not a weapon , of course , but an instrument to stun , medicinally crush a bone or two , and then - once it is on the inside … ' ' Which table ? ' asked Eslaf quickly . The young woman led him to a large table in the back of the tavern where ten of the biggest Nord brutes Eslaf had ever seen were sitting . They looked at him with polite disinterest , as if he were a strange insect , worth briefly studying before crushing . ' My name is Laicifitra , ' she said , and Eslaf blinked . That was the name Suoibud had uttered before Eslaf had made his escape . ' And these are my lieutenants . I am the commander of a very large independent army of noble knights . The very best in Skyrim . Most recently we were given a job to attack a vineyard in The Aalto to force its owner , a man named Laernu , to sell to our employer , a man named Suoibud . Our payment was to be a gem of surpassing size and quality , quite famous and unmistakable . " " We did as we were asked , and when we went to Suoibud to collect our fee , he told us he was unable to pay , due to a recent burglary . In the end , though , he saw things our way , and paid us an amount of gold almost equal to the worth of the prize jewel … It did not empty out his treasury entirely , but it meant he was unable to buy the land in the Aalto after all . So we were not paid enough , Suoibud has taken a heavy financial blow , and Laernu ' s prize crop of Jazbay has been temporarily destroyed for naught , " Laicifitra took a long , slow drink of her mead before continuing . " Now , I wonder , could you tell me , how came you in the possession of the gem we were promised ? " Eslaf did not answer at once . Instead , he took a piece of bread from the plate of the savage bearded barbarian on his left and ate it . ' I ' m sorry , ' he said , his mouth full . ' May I ? Of course , I couldn ' t stop you from taking the gem even if I wanted to , and as a matter of fact , I don ' t mind at all . It ' s also useless to deny how it came into my possession . I stole it from your employer . I certainly didn ' t mean you or your noble knights any harm by it , but I can understand why the word of a thief is not suitable for one such as yourself . ' ' No , ' replied Laicifitra , frowning , but her eyes showing amusement . ' Not suitable at all . ' ' But before you kill me , ' Eslaf said , grabbing another piece of bread . ' Tell me , how suitable is it for noble knights such as yourself to be paid twice for one job ? I have no honor myself , but I would have thought that since Suoibud took a profit loss to pay you , and now you have the gem , your handsome profit is not entirely honorable . ' Laicifitra picked up the broom and looked at Eslaf . Then she laughed , ' What is your name , thief ? ' ' Eslaf , ' said the thief . ' We will take the gem , as it was promised to us . But you are right . We should not be paid twice for the same job . So , ' said the warrior woman , putting down the broomstick . ' You are our new employer . What would you have your own army do for you ? " Many people could find quite a few good uses for their own army , but Eslaf was not among them . He searched his brain , and finally it was decided that it was a debt to be paid later . For all her brutality , Laicifitra was an simple woman , raised , he learned , by the very army she commanded . Fighting and honor were the only things she knew . When Eslaf left Kravenswold , he had an army at his beck and call , but not a coin to his name . He knew he would have to steal something soon . As he wandered the woods , scrounging for food , he was beset with a strange feeling of familiarity . These were the very woods he had been in as a child , also starving , also scrounging . When he came out on the road , he found that he had come back on the kingdom where he had been raised by the dear , stupid , shy maid Drusba . He was in Erolgard . It had fallen even deeper into despair since his youth . The shops that had refused him food were boarded up , abandoned . The only people left were hollow , hopeless figures , so ravaged by taxation , despotism , and barbaric raids that they were too weak to flee . Eslaf realized how lucky he was to have gotten out in his youth . There was , however , a castle and a king . Eslaf immediately made plans to raid the treasury . As usual , he watched the place carefully , taking note of the security and the habits of the guards . This took some time . In the end , he realized there was no security and no guards . He walked in the front door , and down the empty corridors to the treasury . It was full of precisely nothing , except one man . He was Eslaf ' s age , but looked much older . ' There ' s nothing to steal , ' he said . ' Would that there was . ' King Ynohp , though prematurely aged , had the same white blond hair and blue eyes like broken glass that Eslaf had . In fact , he resembled Suoibud and Laicifitra as well . And though Eslaf had never met the ruined landlord of the Aalto , Laernu , he looked him too . Not surprisingly , since they were quintuplets . ' So , you have nothing ? ' asked Eslaf , gently . ' Nothing except my poor kingdom , curse it , ' the King grumbled . ' Before I came to the throne , it was powerful and rich , but I inherited none of that , only the title . For my entire life , I ' ve had responsibility thrust on my shoulders , but never had the means to handle it properly . I look over the desolation which is my birthright , and I hate it . If it were possible to steal a kingdom , I would not lift a finger to stop you . " It was , it turned out , quite possible to steal a kingdom . Eslaf became known as Ynohp , a deception easily done given their physical similarities . The real Ynohp , taking the name of Ylekilnu , happily left his demesne , becoming eventually a simple worker in the vineyards of The Aalto . For the first time free of responsibility , he fell into his new life with gusto , the years melting off him . The new Ynohp called in his favor with Laicifitra , using her army to restore peace to the kingdom of Erolgard . Now that it was safe , business and commerce began to return to the land , and Eslaf reduced the tyrannical taxes to encourage it to grow . Upon hearing that , Suoibud , ever nervous about losing his money , elected to return to the land of his birth . When he died years later , out of greed , he had refused to name someone an heir , so the kingdom received its entire fortune . Eslaf used part of the gold to buy the vineyards of The Aalto , after hearing great things of it from Ynohp . And so it was that Erolgard was returned to its previous prosperity by the fifth born child of King Ytluaf - Eslaf Erol , beggar , thief , warrior ( of sorts ) , and king .