The group settled in on the beach and Davin and Flan skinned 6 of the boars that they killed. They ate some of the boar for dinner and planned to smoke the rest to replenish their rations.
The next day they wake to find a cargo barge sitting off shore. There are 6 people watching them. They don't appear to have weapons so Davin greets them, but they don't respond. The group decides to head down the beach but they leave the fire burning.
Shortly down the beach, a tall elven male approached the group. He greets them and states that he is from the temple of Nathis, god of magic. He was headed to the Golden Valley on a service journey and was diverted by an ethereal light (the light coming from the keg). He asks the group about the keg that they are carrying and ask if they know what it is. When they can not affirm that they do, he explains that it is the dead, ground bodies of faeries, sprites and other magical creatures. It is elemental magic and pure chaos. He tells them that Asheboro was blown to the pain plane for having this type of magical item. When they seem indifferent to this information, he decides to leave them on their own.
As the group gets further down the beach there are several cargo ships are off in the distance. They approach several large boulders and 20 men rush out and surround them. Darwin greets them but they laugh. Four Row boats approach the shore behind them and a single boat approaches in front. Davin uses "message" to ask intent, but does not get a response. A single rower gets off the boat and approached the group. Darwin casts mage armor on entire party, bull strength on Flan & Davin and magic fang on herself.
The leader of party puts his hand on his revolver asks if the group knows what they are carrying. He demands they give it to him and when they refuse the pirates attack, surrounding the group. Darwin starts to sing to boost the groups morale and they manage to kill 5 pirates before they all become grappled. The pirates take the keg and turn it over to their leader.
Conrad escapes the grapple and kills a pirate. Darwin also escapes and casts fireball hitting the keg. Suddenly the group is around a fire with freshly killed boar. They see the original cargo barge and realize that they have been thrown back in time to the previous day. They see the cargo boat from the day before and decide to destroy it with arrows and fireball spells.
They head down the beach and again come across elven mage. Darwin greets him and says that they are looking for a priest to reconstitute the dead faeries that they are carrying. The mage appears pleased with this news and introduces himself as Alain. He agrees to take them to Golden Valley. He leads them to a hidden crevice and up onto the cliff. The group follows Alain up to a trail just as a caravan passes. Alain approaches with Darwin. They too are heading to Golden Valley and are willing to pay the group 5 gold pieces each to escort them to the valley. They caravan offers the group a contact to join the militia with a payment of 30 gold pieces. They are told that Golden Valley is generally calm and idyllic because the town is protected by a benevolent dragon named Val.
When they approach the gate they are attacked by a dragon. It swats at them playfully and they determine something is not as it seems. Darwin uses her cat claws to scratch the dragons belly and it rolls over and thumps it's leg contentedly. They assume that this dragon is the town's protector and that he has somehow been put under a spell to think that he is a cat!
They enter the town and learn that the family that runs golden valley is the Pellcasters. They made the deal with Val many generations ago for his protection in return for large regular payments. They learn that the King is missing and that the Queen mother has assumed control. The sergeant of the militia escorts them to the throne room where they meet the Queen Mother, Eteadalia and the princess, Regalia. There is a covenant on the wall made of dragon scales that has the sigil of house Pellcasters. Gran asks the sargeant if there is word from her nephew, however Regalia interrupts saying that she can fix everything if gran (the Queen Mother) would just listen to her. She is carrying a cat that seems very angry and authoritative (even more than would be expected for a cat). The group is able to determine that somehow, Val has switched bodies with the cat.
The group hears a loud thud and the door burst open. Chiznor, ambassador of the Wicked Kings saunters into the room haughtily and sneers “I think we've heard enough your majesty”. With Val's disappearance leaving Golden Valley without a protector, they have come for a hostile takeover. Darwin attempts to negotiate with the ambassador, but he regards her and the group derisively. He does, however, make them an offer. “We will be taking the girl and her cat. There is nothing you can do to stop us. All you have to do is stay out of our way while we dispose of the queen and I will pay you 10 platinum pieces. If you escort us to the harbor, you will earn four times that. Stand in our way and we will cut you down with this old harpy”
The group holds their ground against the 12 mercenaries that have escorted the ambassador. They sustain serious injuries and narrowly escape death, but the queen mother, the princess and Val (in the body of the cat) are able to safely hide in a tunnel behind the throne. Unfortunately the ambassador manages to escape.
