The Noricin Chronicles: The Gottlehrling Goblet

By Mark Sheldon

After nearly being killed by the disembodied Scorpion at the end of the previous school year, Dan Regal has more than earned a quiet summer alone at Snisnar - his solitude interrupted only for private lessons each morning with Mr. Loeren on the bank of the school pond.
But his reprieve is not destined to last, and in September the other students return to Snisnar to commence their studies. Almost as soon as the rest of the school has returned, strange things begin to happen (strange even for Snisnar), and before long, it becomes quite clear that the Scorpion did indeed survive his encounter with Dan last spring, and has set himself to killing Dan once and for all.
As if having the Scorpion after him were not enough, there is also a new teacher at the school who makes Ms. Virgus look like a cute, cuddly long-eared jerboa - and this teacher seems to have it in for Dan and his friends.
There are also whispers going around the school of a long-lost heirloom of Steven Noricin's; a goblet that, according to legend, has the power to grant immortality to its drinker, and it seems as if the Scorpion is now seeking out this relic so that it may aid him in his return to power. Will Dan be able to find the Gottlehrling Goblet before the Scorpion gets his hands on it?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mark Sheldon
• Release date: Mar 7, 2011
• ISBN: 9781458130341

Mark Sheldon

Mark Sheldon is the author of the upcoming series, "The Noricin Chronicles." The first installment, "The Lost Boy," is due to be released on January 11th, 2011. Visit http://noricin.webs.com for more information!

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Praise for

The Gottlehrling Goblet

"[The Gottlehrling Goblet] brings you deeper into the mythology of the Norcinites and Dan Regal …Amongst the challenges of final exams, the distraction of first love, riddles and secrets, mystery and murder, how will Dan and his friends manage to survive?"

~Kyra Dawson, Brighter Scribe

www.thescribesdesk.com

"In The Gottlehrling Goblet…author Mark Sheldon continues the fateful saga of young Dan Regal…who is forced to redouble his efforts the second time around – and the fierce determination of his relentless internal resolve is palpable…A recommended read."

~Chelsea Perry, Apex Reviews

www.apexreviews.net

Praise For

The Lost Boy

A story that draws the reader in from the very first line…The story of the Noricin legacy is compelling and magical. Mark Sheldon has created a masterpiece.

~Mark Miner

A House Divided; The Bed and Breakfast; The Spell of Deception; and Willamette Werewolves.

www.markminerwrites.weebly.com

"A real page-turner, easy to read, easy to follow and I want to read more…[Mark Sheldon’s] words flow as smooth as a Stephen King novel."

~Bill Rosen, Author

"[Mark Sheldon] easily moves this complex story with ease… I for one can’t wait to see Part 2 and what Dan and his friends learn in the next year at the Steven Noricin School for the New Race."

~Dr. Patricia Petty – author, speaker, writer

www.cellophaneministries.weebly.com

www.antebellumproductions.weebly.com

"Rife with fantastical action and adventure, The Lost Boy is a magical read…[Dan’s] struggle along the road to ultimate enlightenment is one with which readers young and old alike are sure to identify."

~Chelsea Perry, Apex Reviews

www.apexreviews.net

The Noricin Chronicles

Chronicle the First:

The Steven Noricin School for the New Race

Part 2: The Gottlehrling Goblet

By Mark Sheldon

The Noricin Chronicles: The Gottlehrling Goblet Copyright 2011 by Mark Sheldon

Cover artwork Copyright 2010 by Mark Sheldon

Smashwords Edition

This book is available in print at most online retailers.

Visit The Noricin Chronicles homepage at http://noricin.webs.com

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

So that you won’t be lost and confused when reading The Gottlehrling Goblet, be sure to read Part 1 of The Noricin Chronicles: The Lost Boy!

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: A New Beginning

Chapter 2: The First Margathean

Chapter 3: A Mystery in the Night and a Chandelier

Chapter 4: The Gottlehrling Goblet

Chapter 5: The Other Orphan

Chapter 6: A Slight Change in the Tide

Chapter 7: The Maw of the Beast

Chapter 8: The Madness of Jason Noricin

Chapter 9: Zodiac

Chapter 10: Josh Reyshell Strikes Again

Chapter 11: Life After Death

Chapter 12: Unmasked

Chapter 13: Pancakes Lacking in Fluffiness

"It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more."

J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Chapter 1

A New Beginning

Once again, Dan Regal found himself in a school that seemed haunted by the students who should have been there, but weren’t. The last time had been over winter break. That at least had only been a few weeks. He wasn’t sure how he would survive an entire three months at Snisnar virtually alone. However, he had not been away from the orphanage so long as to have forgotten how unhappy he had been there. No, he was definitely still glad to be rid of that life, but it didn’t make the near-isolation any more tolerable.

But he was not completely alone. His solitude was interrupted each day for a private lesson with Mr. Loeren underneath the weeping willow tree – known as Wilhelmia to Mrs. Cradin – on the bank of the pond. Each day Mr. Loeren and Dan focused on honing Dan’s offensive and defensive skills, everything from generating electricity to better and more stable Deflective Shields. Mr. Loeren taught Dan that the best way to defend himself from an attack was to know the appropriate counter-attack.

For example, Mr. Loeren said one afternoon, his purple eyes twinkling and his white hair glaring against his dark skin in the summer sun, if I were to send blasts of flame at you, the best defense would be to generate some form of water to douse my flames. On the other hand, if I were to attack you with ice or snow, you would want to use flame. Figuring out that bit is, naturally, the easy part. The tricky part is getting to the point where you can make these decisions reflexively in a pressured situation.

On other days, they would have philosophical discussions. Dan never quite figured out what put the Principal into the mood of discussing defense or debating philosophy – Mr. Loeren was a man who seemed to go wherever his rambling mind would take him and ask questions later, if at all.

Despite what you may think, Mr. Loeren began on one such morning, we are not actually inside the Universe.

What do you mean? Dan asked, utterly befuddled.

We are, to be entirely accurate, on the outside, the Principal explained. Dan was still confused. Think about it this way; we are not inside of the Earth, but on the outside, correct? The Universe, like history, is very repetitive. The Universe, like the Earth, is round, and also like the Earth, we exist on the outside rather than the inside.

So what’s on the inside? Dan asked, fearing that he would go cross-eyed if the conversation didn’t start to reach some semblance of sense.

"That, Mr. Loeren said with a wry smile, is something none of us will ever know until we’ve passed on from this life. When we die, our bodies become one with the Earth. Likewise, when we die our souls become one with the Universe. For thousands of years humans have dedicated themselves to imagining what awaits us inside the Universe, but I’m afraid it is something that exists beyond the comprehension of man’s feeble mind – even for the enlightened minds of the Norcinites."

For the first few weeks of their lessons, Dan noticed an unpleasant fluttering sensation in his stomach, which he attributed to nerves. But, as he became more comfortable with learning from Mr. Loeren, he quickly overcame the stomach butterflies. He also couldn’t deny that when he trained with Mr. Loeren, he mastered the skills at a remarkable pace – even for himself, considering that Practical Defenses had been his best subject the previous year.

Despite the hours of solitude, the summer flew by and before Dan knew it, it was almost time for his classmates to return to the school. In the last week of August, the teachers began returning – the first sign that the new school year was approaching. First to arrive was, of course, the tiny Mrs. Gruoch, since she was the Assistant Principal. Gradually the other teachers arrived including Mrs. Cradin (whose airy-fairy-ness made Dan very glad to know that he would not be taking Natural Studies with her this year), Mr. Podmore (who greeted Dan warmly with a jovial embrace upon his return from Hawaii), and the unfailingly bitter Ms. Virgus – surrounded, as always, by her trademark stench of burnt tacos.

Even though Dan had discovered that he had been wrong about Virgus being behind the attacks made on his life the previous year, it still didn’t excuse the harsh, condescending attitude the teacher showed to her students.

There was also a new arrival, a tall man with short, dark hair, a clean-shaven face, and black, calculating eyes. Dan guessed that this new faculty member must be the replacement for Mrs. Pysis. Dan did not like the appearance of this man one bit, and could not help but sense on some level that the feeling was mutual.

At long last, Sunday the thirtieth of August arrived. Dan eagerly awaited the arrival of the buses that would reunite him with his classmates. After what had been undeniably the longest day of the whole summer (Dan was forced to acknowledge that pacing back and forth across the school grounds actually did not make time go faster), Dan heard the creaking of the main gates signaling the arrival of the buses. The buses seemed to be truly enjoying taking their sweet time coming up the dirt road that led to the school, but Dan supposed it was just his nerves making time seem slower.

Finally, the three buses pulled up to the school – the fourth containing the freshmen students had yet to arrive – and Dan’s classmates began pouring forth onto the school grounds. In a blur of blond, Shelley Anderson (who apparently had grown out of her ball cap phase – though she still maintained the rest of her tomboy uniform of t-shirt and tattered jeans) flew off the bus, followed by Dan’s other best friend, the more subdued Mike Pringle.

As Shelley pulled Dan into a suffocating embrace, he was surprised by an unexpected development in Shelley’s physique that had occurred over the summer – a development that was made particularly apparent by the proximity of their embrace.

Apparently his surprise was evident, for Shelley rolled her eyes and said, Yeah, I know. I hate these things. They just like, I don’t know, popped in over night or somethin’. They kept getting in the way of getting to third base at summer camp.

"W-what???" Mike stammered, turning redder than ever.

Yeah, Shelley continued, "I was right between second and third and I was coming up on her so freakin' fast. She grabbed for it and missed. I thought I was gonna get there for sure, so I tried to slide right in, but these stupid things got in the way and just totally spoiled everything."

Dan briefly considered revealing to Mike that Shelley was talking about softball at summer camp, but the look on Mike’s face was just way too amusing to put an end to the fun. It was a look Dan had seen Mike wear once before, last year after Acraftina Crumley had made a snide remark about Shelley liking tacos. It was a look of great inner turmoil as Mike grappled with a theoretical possibility that he did not want to be true.

As they filed into the main building, Mike and Shelley caught Dan up on their summers. Shelley’s parents had surprised her with a trip to Ireland where they got to visit the house where Steven Noricin had lived before he emigrated to America. She had brought Dan back a necklace with some sort of Celtic cross. The four arms of the cross were shaped like looped triangles, pointing toward the center, where they converged into a large, emerald stone.

I hope it’s not too girly for you, she said nervously.

Are you kidding? Dan said, pulling the chain over his head. It’s really cool, thanks Shell.

"We just