Note: I hope everyone is enjoying this story. Please make a note of the tag changes. I have added a few more characters into this story, Catti-brie obviously, as well as Eileen Leahy and Jo Harvelle from Supernatural who will be introduced later in the story. Also, I am going to add a couple of OCs. Keep in mind that this story and all my stories are AU and canon (canon for all the fandoms involved) is a guide but not a rule and I will ignore it if it conflicts with the story. Also, note the warning as there will be a canon character death in this story.
"This place blows," Dean commented as he and Sam walked behind the two dwarves on their way down the stairs in the inn they had stayed in for the night. "The beer is disgusting. Most of the women have beards, and I'm wearing tights!"
Sam ignored Dean's complaints. As the pair of dwarves led them back down into the main tavern area, he preferred to focus on the task at hand.
Sam knew his brother was only half complaining about their situation. Dean was more frustrated by their circumstances regarding Chuck and Billie and everything else that they had left behind in their own world. Neither of the Winchesters felt right about leaving a job unfinished, and Sam agreed that they both needed to get back to their own world.
But there was nothing they could do at the moment, and Sam was curious about the ins and outs of this world. How these people seemed to accept magic made the younger Winchester feel vindicated about their entire life's work. As hunters, they were used to people thinking that they were crazy. Vampires and demons and angels? Most people would scoff at the possibilities and Sam and Dean only had to tell the truth of their lives to be thrown into a mental institution.
But here things were different. Sam understood that this was just another of Chuck's worlds, one of many, and that he was toying with them by sending them there. And yet, he felt intrigued.
"Would you stop complaining, human?" Fili spoke up as the dwarf turned to glare at Dean. "If you don't like the choices in food and clothing here, perhaps you should learn to make it yourself."
"Listen shorty," Dean retorted indignantly before Sam whirled on him and fixed him with a scolding gaze.
"Dean, stop," he warned. "Look, I'm sorry they don't have Wi-Fi or cable tv here, but you know what? Suck it up. This may not be our world, but we're here and if we can help these people, we should try. We are still hunters."
Dean scoffed, eying his brother narrowly. Sam could see the volatile anger simmering just below the surface of his brother's demeanor. Sam knew it wasn't just about being upset, about being plucked from their lives, it was also about recent events. Rowena's death, Castiel leaving, their mother's death. It was all still raw, and neither of them had been given a chance to properly process it all. Dean coped by lashing out at whatever was in range.
But even if this was not their world, they were still the Winchesters. They were still hunters. And Dean needed to wake up and help whoever needed help in this world because that's what the Winchesters did.
Before Dean could find a chance to respond to his brother, Sam turned around and focused ahead. The four of them approached the counter and as they did, Sam noticed a slender figure and a head of curly auburn hair as the young woman sat at the counter, eating her bowl of porridge, speaking softly to the innkeeper whom Sam remembered from last night.
Predictably, Dean's demeanor changed as the woman turned to face them, her blue eyes sizing them up as she took a swig of her tea.
"Are these the ones, then?" she spoke in what Sam thought might be a Scottish accent of some sort. "The ones I'll be taking with me?"
Dean smirked suavely. "And where are we going?" he asked with a wink. "Because it certainly can't be too unpleasant if you'll be with us."
The woman scoffed at Dean's suggestive tone. Sam had to resist rolling his eyes at his brother.
"This is Catti-brie," the innkeeper introduced in a more serious tone. "She'll be guiding you through the Underdark."
"I recommend ye get in a good meal before we start out," the young woman told them as she motioned to a row of bowls of porridge that the innkeeper had placed on the counter in front of them. "Can't say ye will like the taste but ye will like it better than what's waitin' for ye in the Underdark."
Dean made another attempt. "And what's waiting for us, sweetheart?"
Catti-brie fixed him with a narrow glare, sizing him up. "That attitude will get ye dead in the Underdark," she warned. "Especially since I'm the only one who can safely guide ye to the dwarven gate. Maybe I'll leave ye in the dark and let the crawlers have a meal of ye bones."
Sam tried to hide his smirk as Dean frowned, clearly unnerved by the prospects. Catti-brie didn't wait for a rebuttal and turned her attention to the dwarves as the five of them sat down at a table with their bowls of porridge.
"Me friend over there says ye are dwarf princes," she explained, her tone more serious. "If ye are, me father King Breunor will be wanting a word with ye. I'll take ye to him once ye get to the gate. Maybe ye can help us."
Fili nodded in confirmation and quickly introduced himself and the other members of his party. "My brother and I are the princes of Erebor," he explained. He knew no one here was familiar with their land, so he simply shrugged. "It's a faraway land, I suppose.
"You look a little tall and clean shaven to be a dwarf," the blonde dwarf added suspiciously as he carefully changed the subject away from his kingdom or their lack of knowledge of the land they were currently in. "Yet you talk like a dwarf."
"Breunor's me adopted father," Catti-brie explained. "He took me in after goblins killed me parents. He may not be me father by blood but he is in every way that counts."
"And he is the king in these parts?" Fili questioned. Sam watched as the older of the dwarf brothers set himself as the leader of this group, much to Dean's chagrin. Although Fili and Kili were not from this land and Sam suspected Chuck had brought them here as well, they easily fit into the society here, and Sam wondered if the world they had come from had been similar.
"Breunor isn't the king of these dwarves," Catti-brie explained. "We are from Icewind Dale, far in the north. We're only visiting the King Warcrown to offer our help with his current predicament."
"What is his situation?" Kili asked, trying to sound interested in the region's politics, although Sam could tell that leadership didn't particularly interest him.
"I shouldn't say in such public places," Catti-brie replied, tossing a glance over her shoulder to the innkeeper whose watchful gaze told Sam he was tuned into their conversation. "Come on, we'll have plenty of time to chat in the Underdark. Although I would recommend ye keep yer voices down in that place unless you want to be dinner."
That sounded ominous. As they finished their breakfast, Catti-brie reached into her pocket and handed them all a few pendants. "The humans will need these," she explained. "Their magic will help ye to see in the dark."
Sam picked up the cat-eye circlet and noted that the auburn-haired woman wore a similar one over her head, the jewel resting on her forehead.
"These don't really work with my style," Dean complained as Sam stuffed his circlet into his pocket.
"Ye will be changing yer tune soon enough," Catti-brie pointed out before rising from her seat and leading them out the door.
The trip to the entrance of the Underdark took them across Sundabar and to a building manned by armored guards. Catti-brie explained who she was and where she was going and the guards escorted them all down a spiraling flight of stairs that took them further and further underground.
At the base of the stairs, they came to a passageway, and at the end of the narrow hall was an iron door manned by another set of guards. A few words to these additional guards, and the door opened, revealing complete and utter darkness before them.
Sam took out his circlet and put it on his head and instantly, the ominous Underdark was bathed in starlight as they passed through the door and found themselves in a large cavern underground.
"We have gone many miles underground," Catti-Brie explained as she led the way. "And we will continue to descend further."
Sam felt unnerved. The knowledge of how many layers of rock hung about his head was not a pleasant notion. Even Dean was disconcerted enough to put on the circlet he had previously complained about. Sam noted the dwarves didn't seem too intimidated.
"Welcome to the Underdark," Catti-brie whispered softly. "We have many miles ahead before we reach the under gates of Citadel Felbarr. There are countless monsters and fiends we might encounter before then, so I hope ye are seasoned fighters and I hope ye can keep ye wits about ye."
Sam didn't doubt their fighter's prowess. They had come up across many enemies in their decades as hunters. Many monsters, ghosts, and demons. But the younger Winchester knew better than to underestimate this place. He could only hope that the five of them would make it through the Underdark alive.