Before he could finish his thoughts, the Envoy grunted, "Boy answer the rest. Quickly!" His fear of the Envoy made him forget his thoughts and instantly comply.

"My name is Takunda. I have no house name, I am ten years old, I come from Gumbo Village and my totem is the Elephant Foot."

House names were surnames, and people from a small village would not have such usually, especially orphans.

Totems were still a mystery to Taku. He had no idea what they represented, all he knew was that everyone in Gumbo village had that totem. As far as he was concerned it could have a relation to the Elephant Foot Guard.

The scholarly man swiped his hand over the board, making the markings disappear. Then he used his finger to make knew markings into the stone. He used no pen or pencil, but markings were still left by his finger. Taku was confident that nothing was underneath the man's fingers. With no knowledge of this world's alphabet, Taku had no idea what was being written down.

Before Taku could contemplate further, his vision suddenly blurred. This sensation was akin to being pulled by a car moving at hundreds of miles an hour. Taku was too shocked to even scream. He could barely even breathe because they were moving too fast. Just like that, he disappeared from everyone's sight.

"That is absurd."

Someone finally broke the silence with a gulp.

"So that's what an Envoy is like. Truly frightening."

"One day I will be an Envoy."

"Pah! In your dreams."

The children entered into a clutter of noises once the Envoy had disappeared with Taku. The presence of an Envoy was just too much of a stimulus for them.

"Oi, Simba." One of the burly men beckoned his companion. "Hmm?" Simba was still in daze when his friend called out to him. "Was that really him? The Retainer of Death? The one responsible for slaughtering a quarter of the participants single-handedly?" Simba was still thinking about the Envoy, after all, it's not often that they show up in the camp. But the moment he heard the phrase 'Retainer of Death' Simba nearly choked on his own saliva. The Envoy had truly taken the limelight from Taku, but Simba and his partner knew; the Retainer of Death would have a bright future. He would be a blessing for the Guard, and a nightmare for his foes.

…

Swoosh!

As suddenly as he had been taken, Taku stopped moving. His journey lasted little more than ten seconds, but to him it felt like hours. When the Envoy let go Taku instantly vomited on the ground, unfortunately he had not had a chance to eat recently thus barely anything could come out.

Once he gained his strength, Taku observed his surroundings. It was a small pond with a bit of greenery around it. In front of the pond was a middle aged man wearing old robes, fishing in the pond. They seemed to be in the middle of some sort of valley with grass surrounding them. The Envoy stood still like a statue. Taku took this as a cue and did the same, despite the fact that he was still feeling sick.

The middle aged man was sitting on a simple stool and got up after a while, shaking his head.

"You know, back in my days, this was a lot simpler. Or maybe I'm just getting old haha!"

He started laughing the moment he stopped talking, as if he had just said the funniest joke in the world.

"Bhure greats Lord Saru."

The Envoy immediately knelt and saluted Saru the same way Taku and the others had saluted him. Taku's brain almost stopped functioning. Although Taku did not know much about the empire outside his village, he did know that Envoys had respect almost everywhere they went. All Taku knew was that he was part of a prefecture, and that even the chief of the prefecture had to show respect to Envoys. Yet here, an Envoy was kneeling and greeting a poorly dressed middle aged man in the middle of nowhere. Taku realized that there must be a huge gap in status between him and this 'Lord Saru' thus he immediately decided to kneel and know-tow, the highest form of respect.

"Child, no need to do anything. Just stand there as you are." Saru's soothing voice made Taku halt his movements. He did not dare disobey an order from a man that even an Envoy called Lord.

"Bhure, you are dismissed. Thank you for your service." Saru waved his hand and smiled. "Understood!" The Envoy's silhouette flashed, seemingly disappearing into nothingness. Taku was having a hard time seeing Saru's face, as if he was looking at the man through a foggy glass. At first it was not clear but it became more obvious as time went on.

"Don't bother concentrating on my face young man it won't do a thing. If I wanted you to see me then you would see me." said Saru with a snicker. "Y-yes Lord."

"Relax, no need for the titles and honorifics. Just call me Saru, not Lord Saru, not Sir Saru, just Saru."

"Yes…Saru." Taku's reply surprised him. The Gutu were very respectful to their elders and superiors. Through their rigorous upbringing many found it difficult to drop titles and be informal. But Taku, a ten year old child no less, was able to do it instantly. Little did Saru know that he was talking to a man from modern day earth as well …

He must have quite the pair on him haha.

Saru was pleased by Taku's actions and started clapping. "Very good. I like you even more now. Good, good, good!"

Hearing Saru say good three times in a row made Taku somewhat uncomfortable, but at least he made the man happy.

Saru turned around and sat. "Come Taku, take a seat next to me." A stool suddenly appeared from who knows where right next to Saru. Taku gulped and briskly walked to the pond. Feeling somewhat intimidated he sat right next to Saru. At least Saru didn't exude a frightening aura like the Envoy, making being in his presence easier. Nevertheless, his indistinguishable face still made Taku uneasy.

Saru continued fishing. His rod was as simple as could be. A long stick with a wire tied to the end of it. The stick itself looked so ordinary Taku wondered if there was something wrong with his eyes.

"Takunda Gumbo. Taku for short. Am I correct?"