Gunnar Espeksra is a friend of Yates Noll. Like Yates he helps Deirdry Noll in kidnapping children and demanding ransom from their parents, posing as the Shadow Snake. When Ammon Lofts raids the Court of the Rogue Gunnar breaks into his house and ties the remaining inhabitants up, supposedly trying to find Crookshank's fire opals. Gunnar is arrested by Beka's training Dogs and killed by a cut throat that night in the cages. The cage Dog bribed to kill him is stabed the following morning.