Tia looked at Kiliffia, her eyes were asking what they should do. "Where are they!? They couldn't have gotten far. The whole town is on lockdown."
Hearing the voices getting closer Kiliffia made a quick decision. "Lead the way. We will follow you."
"About damn time! I have no idea why my father wishes to help some damn humans." The rabbit girl cursed as she slid back into the hole. Kiliffia and Tia were not far behind them. When they entered the dark hole, they found the opposite side was quite spacious. The rabbit girl quickly picked up a cluster of bricks and stuffed it into the hole, sealing off the entrance. "Okay, let's go."
Kiliffia and Tia followed along behind the rabbit girl through a maze of intertwining tunnels. After almost three hours, they finally came to a spot that opened up wide. But what surprised them as they stood up and looked around was all the beastkin. "This place is?"
"It is a safe haven for all the beastkin we have rescued from slavery." A rabbit man with one ear and one limb walked over with a smile on his face. "Can I ask you, two ladies, to take your rings off? I think you could say we are all friends here."
Kiliffia stared at the rabbit man as she asked cautiously: "Who are you?"
"Hehe, I think your human princess would know me best since it was me who was with her for a short time trying to help her reach the Rural Kingdom. If not for that damn high priest… Well, as you can see, what became of me." The rabbit man said, looking at his missing arm.
"You... Take them off..." Kiliffia decided to trust the rabbit man this one time. She could see the people here all trusted him and were nervous with her and Tia disguised as humans.
"Okay..." Tia and Kiliffia both removed their rings, revealing a cute fox girl and a cute panda girl.
"My lord! And here I was talking down to the two of you." The rabbit girl yelled out in surprise. Her cheeks red as she walked forward. "I apologize. I was rude."
"It's fine. It is not your fault." Kiliffia replied.
The rabbit man smiled as he said: "Follow me. It is best if we talk in my office."
Kiliffia, Tia, and the rabbit girl followed the rabbit man into a dug out room to the side that had a wooden door that slid back and forth. The rabbit man sat down in a chair and motioned his hands for the girls to sit as well. When everyone was seated, only then did the rabbit man speak up. "My name is Pepelt. I was once a merchant who was hired by Princess Tilia to bring her to the Rural Kingdom to warn them about the oncoming war. We met two people on the way, a cat girl named Ceilie and a dragon named Kana."
"You know goddess Kana!?" Kiliffia's ears quickly perked up.
"That I did. At the time when we first met, she even apologized to me for eating my brother..." Pepelt went on to explain what happened, causing the girls to laugh.
"That does sound like something she would say. But it's surprising she was still in her dragon form at the time. I met goddess Kana when she was in her human form..." Once again, a story was told. This time it was Kiliffia. Pepelt nodded and laughed as well.
"Anyway, at first, I was down and out after I got hurt. I had a family at home and did not wish to drag them into it if the Theocracy was going to try to hunt me down, so I stayed away. Sadly I was wrong, my wife was killed, and my daughter Tintin was taken into slavery. She suffered harshly during her time. When I finally found her, her eyes looked dead. I paid a lot of money to get people to help me retrieve her. And then we fled underground. This cave system has been around for a few thousands of years and was abandoned at some point and time. But it has served us well so far." Pepelt said as he scratched the fluff of hair between Tintin's ears.
Kiliffia frowned hearing this. She could see that Tintin was not that old and had already suffered under the hands of sick people. "So, how did you end up with so many beastkin down here?"
"Actually, this was Tintin's doing. She had rescued a few kids from above ground while out inspecting the tunnel connections. Since then, with the help of the new kids, she was able to save more and more. Now there are enough adult beastkin that they do the rescuing, letting the kids stay here where it is safe. I only sent her out this time due to one of my people seeing you being chased." Pepelt answered.
"I see. Then Tia and I owe you our thanks. But I have to ask, with such a large human facility underground, how are you able to even have such an extensive network of tunnels?" Kiliffia had wondered this since they had been down here.
"That is because the training area they built is about fifty kilometers further down. You do not seem to understand that the humans have been playing it smart. They do not wish for anyone to see what they are doing. This is why they used earth magic to dig down so deep. Wait, now that I think about it, it would be best to show you what I mean." Pepelt stood up and turned around, and then slid open a large rock that had a set of stairs leading down. "Follow me. Tintin, stay here and guard the door."
"I will, Father!" Tintin gave a salute before standing in front of the door. Kiliffia felt Tintin to be a happy girl. It was surprising to see her so full of energy. Kiliffia was not sure if she could handle what Tintin went through. Although she almost had.
The group walked down deep underground for almost an hour when they finally reached a small room. "Here take a look for yourself."
Pepelt pointed to a small hole in the floor. Kiliffia walked over to it and looked through it. "This is!"