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Tarsus: Choices
Tarsus: Choices
Tarsus: Choices
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Tarsus: Choices

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In the kingdom of Musk, a dragon came to call. His adventures in Musk make for an enteresting time. This second installment of The Dragon Shield Saga tells the tale of Tarsus and his daughter Axenia; the havok caused by his presence; and the growing love between a young wizard and the princess of the realm. Elves, Dwarves and bad guys are there too. And did I mention the Reaper?

LanguageEnglish
PublisherR.N. Decker
Release dateOct 26, 2016
ISBN9781370200641
Tarsus: Choices
Author

R.N. Decker

I'm a middle aged man trying to get the word out for everyone to read what they like and take the good along with the bad. I live in a small rural town in the eastern part of Oklahoma and love being here. It's quiet, and out of the way. I have to drive twenty minutes to get to the nearest town to do grocery shopping, and the one thing I've learned out of the many years being here: don't take any convenience for granted. When you have to wait twenty minutes for an ambulance to get to your door, you know for a fact you are 'out there.' But it's not all bad. The quiet and the distance from your neighbors means there isn't much distraction when I write. And the best part; one doesn't have to worry about 'urban sprawl'. They can only get so close. And, when I really think about it, being raised in the sticks gives me an advantage over many people who are used to city life. So, tell me, what would you do if you didn't have running water? Or air conditioning? I grew up with the possibilities of water not running and having to use a swamp cooler to stay half-way comfortable in the blistering summers. You learn to cope with a lot. I have a B.A. in Journalism from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and have been writing for many years. Through bad luck, or timing, you name it, I didn't get the chance to go into my chosen field. When I went to school, it seemed you had to have a friend in the industry before you could even get a foot in a door to sweep the floor. So, when life kept going, I had to go with the current, or be swept down stream and drown. I'd always been told, 'If one door closes, another opens.' Well, the door I wanted was, I thought, closed, so another one opened for me: truck driver. Yep, I drove a truck to make a living. For over twenty years. And to those who'd like to know, I don't regret it for a moment. It gave me the chance to see all of the United States, and three provinces of Canada. I got to see the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, and even go to Disney World in Florida. All of the things a kid from the sticks could only dream about. And I got to travel. Man, the things I could tell you; some good, some bad. But in the main, good. And the most important lesson I learned in all those years; people are people everywhere. Some good, some not so good. And I loved meeting them all. But through it all, I never gave up on writing. To this day I still have a notebook by my bed in case I get an idea so I can write it down. Why do I keep poking away at my keyboard? I hope anyone who reads my work enjoys it as much as I did writing it. Happy reading!

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    Book preview

    Tarsus - R.N. Decker

    I know most writers in today’s market never take the time to explain why they would re-write or edit a completed work. Except of course writers such as Stephen King or Dean Koontz who are known to write by the pound instead of the word count. But such as I may not do a thing of this magnitude without cause. So therefore I would like to clarify the situation. When it comes to this series of books, The Dragon Shield saga, being my first attempt at writing a novel, I came to the conclusion that I tend to be long winded. For which I am very sorry. At times I want to choke out all the nuances and supple innuendos and behind the scenes scenarios that I can so the reader may get the ‘gist’ of everything going on in the minds of my characters. But in so doing, I forget about the most important part of any story, and the reader who is willing to fork over their hard earned money to read it: their own imagination.

    I don’t have to tell you for example:

    Pip screamed, ‘No! I will not allow this to happen!’ And without any further thought a bolt of lightning came from a cloudless sky and struck the mad wizard where he stood.

    Instead I can write:

    Pip screamed, ‘No!’ And from nowhere a bolt of lightning struck the mad wizard.

    If I set the scene right, you as a reader already know it was a cloudless sky and Pip, being the good wizard, was the one who sent the lightning to its mark.

    Also, I tend to learn as I go. As most of us can attest to. The more you do, the better you’ll be. Practice, practice, practice. So I’m going to ‘try this again’ as it were.

    I hope you enjoy.

    R.N. Decker

    11/25/2017

    Tarsus: Choices

    By

    R.N. Decker

    What Has Gone Before

    Laura, princess of Musk, informs her father, King Lionel, she wishes to be a knight. The king isn’t happy about it because women can’t be knights, especially this woman, for Laura is destined to marry a knight, not be a knight. He forbids her from pursuing the matter. But Laura, deciding on her own, flees her home to make her dream come true. While leaving she is seen by the orphan stable boy, Pip.

    Laura runs into the forest surrounding her home. After days of wandering, lost and alone, running out of food and provisions, frightened and half out of her wits, she stumbles upon a clearing at the top of a mountain. But something, she doesn’t know what, feels wrong about the glade. Through no fault of her own, angry with her own stupidity for thinking she could just leave the protection of her father’s castle, she nearly falls over a sleeping dragon, hidden from prying eyes by a sorcerer’s spell. With a touch, the dragon wakes.

    The dragon, whose name is Tarsus, tells her he’d been frozen by an enchantment, and only being touched by someone of pure heart could break it. He then informs her the one who had cast the spell was a Gnome wizard by the name of Granston. Hearing the name, Laura realizes her father is in great danger, for the wizard the dragon had just spoken of, was the personal adviser to her father, the King of musk. When this revelation hits Laura, she knows she must go back. And when Tarsus learns his enemy is in the castle keep of the princess, he offers to return her; thereby dispatching his obligation to the princess for his release from a fate he considered worse than death, and to exact revenge on the Gnome who had put him in that position in the first place.

    When Tarsus lands, depositing Laura on the ground in front of the castle, everyone is initially afraid. But Laura reassures them all that Tarsus won’t harm them. After an initial rough start between the Captain of the King’s Guard, Sir Dwayne, Tarsus is shown to a special place set just for him, in the king’s stable.

    Laura convinces her father to talk with Tarsus, and Granston, Tarsus’s worst enemy flees before he could be seen. While shuffling out, the Gnome chances upon Sir Dwayne coming to tell his king of the dragon’s place in the stable, and there the wizard convinces the Captain to have a watchful eye on the monster for fear of what he could do.

    After the dragon is settled in a stall in the king’s stable, the king himself comes to call. From tensions shown between Tarsus and Sir Dwayne, Lionel knows it will not be easy to keep peace between them. Both are admonished for their bad behavior and tempers. While questioning Tarsus, Lionel learns who his adviser really is and his true intentions. The king, being a shrewd person and one not easily swayed does not truly believe, but he does give Tarsus the benefit of the doubt. Also, while the king has Tarsus there, he wishes to bestow a reward to him for bringing his daughter back. Tarsus agrees, but he also asks a boon of the king in return for Laura freeing him from his century’s long slumber. Lionel agrees, but after hearing what that boon might be, he is not happy. Tarsus is granted, reluctantly by Lionel because of the life debt owed, the right to train Laura to be a Knight of the King’s Guard; the princesses one true wish.

    While staying in the stables, Tarsus comes across a lone boy, Pip, mucking out horse stalls, and he is instantly intrigued. But Pip, not ever having seen a dragon before is frightened to the point of fainting. This amuses the dragon so much, he appoints the young man as his squire, but . . . there is another reason the dragon wants the boy around.

    In time, Tarsus begins training Laura as a knight. He can see, after just a few lessons that she will be better than all of the knights in the king’s guard, which he attributes to poor training techniques by Sir Dwayne. Bringing this to the Captains attention brings forth the ire of the knight, and when it comes to a head, a challenge is issued by Tarsus to prove his point; Laura would defeat the Captain’s best knight in a contest of skill, or he would leave the kingdom forever. Accepting the dragon’s conditions, a contest between Sir Hook and the princess is set. And in front of the whole kingdom, she wins the contest using unconventional fighting moves. Sir Dwayne is not happy about the outcome.

    Granston, the Gnome wizard, in the meantime, is hiding in a cave in a mountain range far from the kingdom of Musk. He makes plans to travel to the Gnome kingdom to treat with the Gnome king for aid. While packing his few meager belongings, he grabs his staff, the Staff of Talsoun, the only magical object he truly possesses. Admiring it, his thoughts drift to how he acquired it, through trickery and deceit. It is a great and powerful talisman with tremendous destructive capabilities, but it can only be used every thousand years. Wrapping it in a protective spell, he sets it in his cave and begins his long journey.

    Just days after Laura has won her fight with Sir Hook, she walks into the stable to find Pip and the dragon arguing. The sight of the young stable boy floating eight feet off the ground, confronting the Great Lizard eye to eye, sparked interest in her, however. Trying to intercede and find out what was happening, she is ignored. Until . . . not realizing who Laura is, Pip confronts the princess and admonishes her for interrupting him while he is accosting this ‘great dog’. Moments later, Pip falls to the floor, released from his anger and magic, which gives Laura time to scold him in turn and go to her father to report a young rude wizard in the employ of Lord Tarsus she wishes to have punished.

    Knowing there is no wizard in the castle, the king meets with the dragon to ask about this new wizard. Tarsus, in his infinite wisdom, tells an untruth to the king, and informs him he is the one who made the stable boy Pip float in the air. But the king, being the crafty monarch he is, doesn’t fully believe the Lord Dragon. He knows in his heart the Giant Lizard wouldn’t outright lie to him, but he would hold back valuable information from him. So Lionel orders the knight Dwayne to bring the stable boy in front of him so he can assess the lads’ possible power for himself.

    Dwayne, knight protector, sees Pip as a possible threat to his kingdom and treats the lad as such. Catching the boy unaware after bathing, he trusses the boy up as if he were taking him to be slaughtered on the gallows, bringing him before the king and his court.

    Tarsus, seeing the lad made to suffer, did not take kindly to the knight’s actions. In a roar of rage and anger towards his charge, Tarsus spat out, No! Why is Pip being treated like this? He has done no wrong.

    Lionel, seeing his knight’s mistake commands his release. In an uncharacteristic behavior, the knight refuses. This is my purview and I will do as I see fit until I am satisfied he is not a threat to you, my king, or my kingdom. After initially questioning the boy, Sir Dwayne is persuaded to release him. And in one final confrontation between himself and Tarsus, Tarsus threatens the knight with his life. And the knight does not take kindly to it. The king however, sees the confrontation for what it is; two noble beings sparring against one another; and he orders both to stand their ground and not make matters worse.

    Pip, the stable boy, did indeed possess power. This was the one reason he stayed in Musk instead of moving on when he had the chance. If Pip wasn’t trained to use the power which was harnessed in him, he could unwittingly cause great destruction and mayhem. Pip didn’t take the news very well. But Tarsus, being the one who had brought this on the boy, or at the least brought it to the attention of the boy, felt somewhat responsible, and because of the honor he carried, just as the knights did, he vowed to Pip to always protect him. ‘What happens to one will happen to the other.’ And with this vow, they were forever linked, body and spirit. If one were to die, the other would also. But in so performing this vow, Tarsus made one more added problem for himself; he must now train both the princess and Pip at the same time, and without the princess finding out about a wayward wizard pretending to be a stable-boy. Times were definitely becoming complicated for the dragon.

    Granston, the Gnome wizard, must treat with his king for help in the overthrow of Musk, and the final ending of their greatest enemy, the dragon Tarsus. There he is met by a giant of his species, Raulch, a messenger of the Gnome King Grundehl. Grundehl had been watching the lone Gnome enter his lands and had sent the giant to ‘fetch’ him. And in so doing, delivered the giant into Granston’s hands.

    In the absence of Granston, life went on, and so did the training of Pip and the princess. Tarsus takes young Pip away from the castle and the town to teach him magic. He does not yet want anyone to suspect he is a wizard. But Tarsus also knows it is not right to hold such information from the king. So, in a show of good faith, and to clear his conscience, Tarsus makes arrangements to meet with Lionel in the stables to tell him the truth about the young wizard working as a stable boy. Lionel isn’t happy about the news.

    What neither of them realize is Sir Dwayne was listening in on their conversation. In the middle of the night, the knight protector wakes the young Pip with a sword to his throat. Pip realizes he was possibly going to die and is afraid for the second time in his short life. Before Dwayne could take the young mage in front of his king, Tarsus shows up and stops him, in turn threatening the knight’s life. But then situations shift, when Dwayne’s Lieutenant shows up, Sir Hook, and he threatens the dragons’ life with a pike to his throat. And if that wasn’t enough, Laura shows up and stops him by putting a sword to Hook’s back. Laura had thought she had stopped this nonsense when she felt a sword to her back, as the Stable master, Mulch, puts it there. He wasn’t going to allow anything untoward to happen in his stable, no matter what the reason. And so, in a chain of metal and intended death they stood, each waiting for the eventual outcome of the situation.

    Lionel was there for the eventual clean-up, and he wasn’t happy. Stopping the ‘foolishness’ in the stables, he lined each up in front of his guards and punished them all. He demoted Dwayne, his head Knight, to be the young mage’s squire. He forbade Laura from visiting the stables and admonished Tarsus for letting this sort of thing happen. Then, to finish the punishment, he tells Pip he would deal with him in private in his throne room.

    Apprehensive, arriving at the throne room, Pip walks in on Lionel while pacing in front of the throne. In a very uncharacteristic sympathetic tone Lionel informs the young lad, since he has become a wizard he is a sovereign person, no longer under the jurisdiction of his kingdom or his rule. If he so chooses, Pip could leave Musk and never return. But, the circumstances in the kingdom were such that Lionel was forced to ask for the young mage’s help in the coming problems with Granston. This information puts Pip in a depressed mood, for Musk had been his home for as long as he could remember. And as far as helping the king with the problem of Granston, he didn’t have to ask, he was more than willing.

    The next day Dwayne reports to the stables and to Pip, to start his new duties as page. He is oddly very happy and determined to be the best page and/or squire he could be. Tarsus tells the now happy ex-knight he will have to wait to begin his duties for the talk he had with Lionel had caused the young man some misgivings about his future. Dwayne said he would gladly wait until he was feeling better, then he would help as much as he could. Tarsus became very leery of the knight from then on.

    In the Gnome kingdom, Granston has the king of the Gnomes, Grundehl, under his thumb, although the king thinks it’s the other way around. Upon entering the kingdom, Granston is thrown in a cell. And although he expected this, he is surprised to find he’s not welcome. After meeting with and eventually persuading the king and his cronies to help with the extermination of the dragon, Granston is met by a very surprising ‘guest’ that Grundehl says is his own wizard. A very despicable Dryad by the name of Bappa. And he tells Granston he is the leader of the Assanti Assassins. And each of them does not trust the other. For after the disposal of the dragon, each have plans of betrayal.

    In Musk, Pip starts having terrible nightmares. Nightmares in which he sees everyone he has grown to care about die a horrible death. He tells his companions about these dreams, and using magic shows them in specific detail what he sees. After which, Tarsus is concerned these dreams may be more than just uncomfortable nightmares. He suggests they are prophecies, portents of things that might be.

    Pip continues with his training. But something is missing. Dwayne points out the lad needs more than magic to survive when the time comes for fighting. Tarsus says he is too busy with the princess to teach him. This puts a strain on the lizard’s feelings about Pip, but he is reluctant to interfere with Laura’s training. Lionel the king comes up with a solution, have him be trained by someone besides the dragon. Lionel, the King of Musk, in his youth was an accomplished sword master, and to prove a point to the two reluctant watchers, he insists on sparring to show off his skills. No one will spar with the king however, except his own daughter, Laura. Lionel is reluctant to do so, for fear of hurting her, but Laura, being the lippy young teenager she is, goads her father into the match. With anger in his heart, and for a lesson in humility, he defeats Laura, but not before Laura herself puts in a good showing.

    After the match, while trying to calm down, word is brought to the king and princess that an Elf, a Dwarf, and a scruffy human have arrived at the gates of Musk with news of the coming army marching towards the kingdom.

    The Elf and Dwarf are old friends of the king, the human a deserting Assanti Assassin. The Elf, Muriel, and the Dwarf, Gimble, are there to pledge there services to the king and his kingdom for as long as they are needed. He happily greets both of the men, for he thought them both dead decades before. They report, because of the man with them, that Granston had amassed a great army and was coming to Musk for revenge.

    Plans were made for the defense of the kingdom, and concerns about the young wizard Pip are laid to rest by Tarsus. On the arrival of the two men, Tarsus suggests they be the ones to teach their young mage the art of swordsmanship. Reluctantly, on all three of their parts, they agree, but not before Dwayne announces he will be by Pip’s side the whole time to oversee his teaching, ashamed he cannot instruct him himself, for he isn’t permitted to pick up a sword again until his King sees him worthy.

    Pip’s skill with the sword grows steadily under the instruction of the Elf and Dwarf - almost too steadily. Dwayne had never seen anyone pick up the craft of the sword as skillfully and expertly as the young wizard. Pip, having kept a few surprises to himself, let them all think they were responsible for his learning so fast. In mere weeks, Gimble is convinced the lad is ready for a spar of his own. In the practice fields, he announces before the whole guard and assemblage of knights, the young master wizard needs to take a few moments to complete his education in the sword with a sparring lesson. Everyone is reluctant to do it for fear Pip would use magic against them instead of simply his knowledge of the sword. But Lionel sees this as a true test. One which every night must go through, and one who is learning the craft must complete. Laura agrees to the contest, just as she did with her father, but Lionel would not allow it. Instead he takes the field with Pip, and in a surprise maneuver, Pip pulls out his own sword, seemingly from thin air. A surprise indeed. And when the dust settles after the match, Pip is victorious, standing above the monarch with his magic sword at his throat.

    When the match between the newly formed wizard and the king comes to an end, Granston arrives at the gates of Musk.

    Tarsus knew this day was coming, and although he cautioned his young apprentice wizard to remain calm while dealing with the Gnome wizard, his blind anger at wanting revenge takes hold and he boldly flies out to meet the Gnome. Pip, surprisingly, the levelheaded one of the two, stops Tarsus from making a very big mistake, and they both come up with a plan of attack. It is decided Tarsus will indeed confront the Gnome, but with a clear mind, not clouded by anger. And Pip will hold back until the time was right for him to take the fight to the ex-adviser and his army.

    As the fighting begins in earnest between the two long-time enemies, Pip helps defend the town from the invading Gnome army. Lionel, seeing he had made a mistake punishing Dwayne for only doing his duty, tries to compel him to once again be the knight he was born to be. But Dwayne, after so many months as page to young Pip, had realized his king was right in his punishment and refuses to pick up a sword again, or take back his rightful mantle of King’s Knight until he has proven himself worthy in his own mind. Lionel calls this foolishness, Dwayne calls it just punishment.

    When the army attacks in force, Dwayne is one of the first in battle, fighting only with his hands and a pair of dirks he has hanging from his tunic. And not surprisingly, Princess Laura is right among the knights, fighting for her kingdom. Her constant training with the Lord Dragon was paying off in dividends, for she saves herself and her fellow fighters more than once. Meanwhile, as the fighting in the town continues, Pip and the Gnome wizard are battling each other with powers never before seen. Each tries to out-do the other, but neither can gain the upper hand. In a flash of light and a tremendous bang, each disappear and are not seen for some minutes on the field of battle.

    Using a form of ‘insight’ Pip has learned that no one knows about, he follows the Gnome wizard as he disappears from the battlegrounds. Following another wizard when they ‘flash’ is said to be impossible, so therefore when Pip materializes at the Gnomes hideout, it is a shock to the small man. In a wizard dual that literally shakes the mountain they’re on, each seeks the others demise. When the Gnome realizes he cannot beat the youth with strength alone, he flees again, back to Musk and the battle.

    In Musk they take many losses, and Lionel is saddened to think he may lose this struggle. Fighting among his knights and the people of Musk, the king comes very close to losing his life. If not for the intervention of Muriel, a bowman of great renown among his people, Lionel would have surely died.

    Coming back to the fight, Pip angers the little gnome wizard to the point where he throws a spear of power at Tarsus, which pierces his shoulder, in turn causing great pain to both himself and the Lord Dragon. What happens to one happens to the other.

    As Tarsus lays seemingly dying on the field of battle, Granston takes time to gloat. And in so doing, giving his own king, Grundehl, time to try and kill him. But Granston is not fooled by his so-called ally. Using a spell to stop the king of the Gnomes, he gloats again at his seeming victory over the kingdom of Musk and his own brethren.

    Pip seethes with anger at the wizard’s audacity. In a last ditch effort to finally rid the world of such evil, Pip throws his own power at the Gnome. But Granston side-steps the youths bolt and throws Grundehl in its path instead. In a tremendous flash of light the Gnome King is no more and Granston escapes.

    Pip, seeing the Gnome escape, realizes he can’t do anything. Frustrated and angry he turns his attention to his fallen friend and mentor, Tarsus. Using his last bit of strength in a magic healing spell, he falls into an abyss of darkness.

    Days later, Pip awakens, staring into the eyes of Dwayne, the ex-knight. Seeing he’s alive, he asks of his mentor and friend. Instead of answering, Dwayne takes Pip outside to a gathering of his fellow warriors. In the gathering he finds Tarsus alive

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