The Valley of the Fountain is guarded continuously by no less then 25 sentries. They are posted within sight of each other and within sight of the fountain and pool. Most of the sentries have a clear view of the skies and the mountain. Nothing can get near the fountain without being detected. In this instance, the Satyr had no intention of trying not to be detected. They came in a great horde like a big red cloud coming straight from the mountain's top. There were over a hundred of them and they could be seen and heard from a great distance. The high pitched hum of there wings was unmistakable to Nymph. There had been plenty of time for the Nymph to assemble a force large enough to repel such a small attack force. The Princess and her entourage led two hundred Nymph out to the opposing force to keep the battle as far away from the fountain as possible. The Satyr horde flew in just over the tree tops in a formation that resembled an arrow. Their long thin wings made a high pitched whine. Their long insect legs were dragging below and almost behind them. Their long black hair streamed in the wind. Most had a long, jagged sword in one hand and a shield in the other. Some carried bolos and nets. The Satyr liked to take captives back to the hive to torture.
The Nymph, on the other hand, flying out to meet them stayed down in the forest just below the tree line bobbing gracefully around and between the leaves and branches. They were flashes of color, like a rainbow passing through the top of the forest. Most had dull gray body armor on their upper bodies. Some also wore long boots that came to their hips and hugged tightly to their legs. All of them had dull grey metal helmets on. Blonde, brown and red hair flowed from underneath. The Nymph are not as big as the Satyr. They are not as strong as the Satyr. They are not as fast as the Satyr. But when it comes to the art of war the Nymph have no equals. They knew exactly what to do with an enemy of this size attacking in this fashion. Upon the approach of a Satyr army, thirty Nymph were sent out in strategic directions to detect any secondary assault. The rest split into three squads. The first squad consisted of the best archers. Second squad bore lances with barbed hooked ends and the third squad had swords in hand and shields. All Nymphs wore swords on their waists. The archers hung back behind the main force. As the body of Satyr approached, the archer Nymph rose out of the trees it front of them and launched a volley of arrows causing the Satyr to slow and raise their shields for protection. As soon as they did this, the lance nymphs came from beneath, attacking the main body of the Satyr army, driving completely through and above them out of the way, giving the archers a second volley of arrows into the now mostly unprotected Satyr. It is at this point in the one-sided battle that the princess and her squad arose from the cover of the forest behind the Satyr to cut off their retreat and charge them with swords and hand to hand combat. The lance squad rejoined the battle from above. The archery crew then split in three groups. Two of the groups moved laterally and killed Satyr that broke ranks and tried to escape. The third archer group sank back into the forest underneath the battle and killed Satyr that tried to escape down into the forest. The entire battle took about half an hour. The casualties were sixteen Nymph killed and eleven wounded. One hundred and one Satyr were killed and it is believed that 19 escaped, some of them wonunded, possibly mortally.     
 
During an attack the Queen has three secure locations she can choose from. These are the most defensible positions in the city. The first is the highest point of the cavern in a cave that can be sealed from the inside and is completely stocked. The entire city can be viewed from this position. The second is underneath the throne room. This series of tunnels and antechambers is known only to the Queen, the Princess and select members of the royal guard. The reason this option is so secretive is that from this location there are passages that lead to almost every major area of the city including the chapel, food storage area, throne room, the armory and the royal living quarters to name a few. The Nymph are a telepathic species. The fewer who know about a secret, the easier it is to block from the probing mind. It is also kept secret from the royal advisors. For many years, the advisors were preyed upon by the Satyr for capture and torture.
The third location is the most ingenious as it also serves as the royal families emergency escape route. The waterfall on the east side of the Nymph cavern city also falls down the mountainside outside of the city in the great forest. There is a cave that runs through it, hidden by the waterfall on both sides. There is a small ledge high on the east wall above the waterfall. This ledge is always enshrouded in the perpetual fog at the top of the cave created from the combination of the underground hot spring, the waterfalls and the cool air of the cavern. The ledge leads to a small crevice and a secret stairwell that winds down behind the waterfall and the cave behind it.
The Queen and her royal guard never stood a chance. Twenty Satyr had entered the city through the waterfall and hid in the fog at the ceiling of the great cathedral city. Twenty more waited in the forest just outside the waterfall on the mountain. The Queen and her entourage entered the cave. They would wait here until they received word that it was safe. She sat at the head of the stone table in the waterfall chamber and closed her eyes. As she meditated she suddenly felt an alarm inside her mind. She concentrated. It was Fidelis warning her. She felt Fidelis in great pain. She suddenly saw in her mind what Fidelis saw before she fell. The Queen's guard had become restless around her, feeling her tension. "We are betrayed ." she said aloud. Instantly, her guards surrounded her. The head of the guard asked, "What do you want to do your majesty?"
"We must get back into the city. We must warn the others." It was at that moment that the Satyr burst through the waterfalls from both directions.
 

The more Bishop struggled, the tighter the net got so he stopped struggling. The Satyr held him up off the ground by the end of the net, upside down. Bishop slowly spun around and around while the Satyr studied him. "I have never seen a human before" the creature rasped. "Ugly". It dropped him to the ground and started dragging him behind it. "Where are you taking me!" Bishop demanded. The creature kicked him in the side with one of its insect legs, taking the wind out of him. Bishop stopped asking questions and started concentrating on keeping his head from banging into the walls when they turned corners. The Satyr was in a hurry without actually seeming worried about it. They came to a doorway that led out into the cavern. The Satyr stopped and surveyed the court yard. After a moment it turned to bishop and put the sharp end of one of its pointed legs to bishops throat. The voices of several Nymph passed by outside the corridor. When they were gone the creature tucked bishop under his arm and leaped into the air. Bishop was amazed at how easily the monster could fly bearing his weight. They flew straight up and into the fog at the top of the room. The creature deftly landed against the cavern wall on a ledge that was too small to fit them both and Bishop was dropped, banging off the wall and hanging over the side upside down again. It drug him into an opening in the wall and down several stone steps into a cave. There was a wall of water on either side. Bright daylight flooded the room from the far wall of falling water. The Satyr dropped Bishop on the ground and sat down on a rock, its abdomen grotesquely jutting out from under it. It was pulsing and the six inch stinger that jutted from the end had a big drop of yellow venom on the tip. The Satyr was looking around, smiling. "Somebody had fun." it rasped. Bishop looked around as well. What he saw was horrifying. There was blood everywhere. so much blood it dripped from the rocks and in places it still ran down the walls. But worse than that, there were wings. Several pair of wings, bloodied and scattered about. Some of them still had chunks of flesh hanging on them. Then Bishop saw something that made his blood run cold. A silver Tierra Crown lay in a puddle of blood. Bishop screamed in anger and pain. He screamed again and the Satyr just laughed at him. Bishop lay there, out of breath, tears flowing down his face. Nymph blood all over him, wrapped in a mesh net that was cutting into his flesh in several places, breathing hard. He looked at the Satyr until it caught his eye and said, "I am going to kill you." The Satyr smiled a grotesque smile at him. Then it saw a dead Satyr laying in the corner of the cave. It crossed over to it and Bishop screamed "Good!" The Satyr ignored him and bent over the dead body. It took the dead monsters belt and drew the sword out of it and examined it. "Nice." it grunted and put the sword back in the sheath on the belt and put it over his shoulder. It grabbed the end of the net and dragging Bishop, headed for the bright waterfall. 
   
The battle was over. Most Nymphs were happy, walking through the forest looking for weapons and verifying the dead. But something was wrong. The Princess could sense it but she did not know what. As if mirroring her thoughts, one of the warriors standing nearby said. "That was too easy." She looked at the Princess and said again, "Your Majesty, that was too easy." One of the Princess' squad Penitus Vires was also nearby. "Excuse me for saying so, Princess but that did not feel right to me either. It did not feel right at all."
"I know," the Princess replied. "Something is amiss. Take an extra squad to the fountain and double the guard around the city." The first warrior bowed and turned, took three steps and flew into the forest. The princess tried to concentrate, using her mind to ask her mother for advice but she could not. She thought it must be the stress of battle. Then she heard another warrior up the hillside say "This one lives yet." She hurried to them. "Which one lives?" she asked the group of warriors that gathered. "This one." The Satyr was hanging upside down from a tree. Nymph arrows were protruding from its neck and chest. It was dying fast. The princess walked over to it, laid her hand on its forehead and closed her eyes. "Tell me what you know." she said quietly. Warriors had gathered around her, watching, waiting. They all sensed the same thing. Something was not right about this battle. Suddenly the Princess screamed in anger and rage. She pulled her sword and savagely lopped off the Satyr's head. "We are betrayed!" she yelled, "Find the queen! Put the city on full alert! Everyone to arms!" She reached out and grabbed one of her warrior's arm. She looked the young warrior in the eyes. "It is vital that you follow my instructions very carefully now, Penitus Vires. I trust you as I did your mother before you. Assemble the rest of my squad in my ready room. Secure the entire chamber. Let no one in or out. Communicate with no one who is not on the squad. Wait for me there."
"Yes, your Highness, it will be exactly as you command" The Warrior flew off to assemble the Princess' squad. The Princess waited until everyone had set off then she headed in the opposite direction, toward the Mountain of Procella.

   
The attack on the Queen and her guard in the waterfall chamber had been quick and brutal. Forty Satyr had rushed in through the waterfalls on either side almost simultaneously. The Queens guard had very little chance of inflicting any damage although the very first of the attackers were injured and one was killed. The Guard was quickly overcome and the Queen was netted and carried off as a prisoner. The Queens guard that were not killed in the first onslaught were tortured, executed and their wingless bodies were thrown off the falls. The Satyr argued among themselves for the wings and the scalps. The waterfall ran red with the blood of Nymph. The two Satyr who were charged with taking the Queen to Mount Procella, first beat the Queen until she was unconscious, being careful not to kill her, so that she could not "call" for help. Queen Regina Valde was very well known for her power of telepathy and no chances were being taken until she was well out of range and inside Mount Procella.