Chapter 30

There was banging on the door of the hut waking Dean and Titus from their sleep the following morning. They got up, dressed and prepared for the day. They joined the working dwarfs for breakfast before heading for the mines. Dean was given a pickaxe by a dwarf and followed them down a tunnel lit by torches to a cavern where they began to chip chunks of rock from the wall.

It didn't take Dean long to realize what a back breaking job this was going to be. He stopped long enough to tear the sleeves from his shirt and wrap them around his hands to help prevent blisters. The dwarfs' hands were hardened and tough from their toiling in the mines and didn't need gloves or coverings. Dean also tied a rag around his face so he wouldn't breathe in the dust from the digging.

The hours passed by slowly and Dean's shoulders were beginning to burn and ache with the swinging of the pickaxe. The work was grueling and tedious, and he wondered how the dwarfs did this all day, every day.

"Dean, I brought water for everyone," Titus called loudly to him to get his attention.

Dean leaned against his pickaxe and turned to see Titus pulling a small cart with buckets of water and a basket of fruit toward him. The dwarfs stopped and lined up to get water and fruit to take a break. Dean waited his turn and accepted the cup of water from Titus.

"Are you okay?" Titus asked him as he looked up into Dean's dirty sweat streaked face.

"Yeah," Dean huffed dipping out another cup of water to drink.

"Here eat one of these," Titus offered holding out a piece fruit. "It's really good."

"Thanks, are you being treated okay?" Dean questioned the boy before biting off a chunk of the fruit. It was sweet and meaty tasting like a combination of a pear and peach.

"Yes, I am helping sort the rocks and bringing water and food to you. They even let me help with the cooking of the noon meal."

"That's good. You do what they tell you Ty and everything will be okay."

"I will. I better get back. Be careful Dean."

"I will Ty." Dean rolled his shoulders and picked up the pickaxe to go back to work. He got a steady rhythm going by humming one of his favorite songs and worked on the wall with the other dwarfs, breaking away chunks of the black colored rock that was then shoveled into buckets and taken from the cavern. He continued working until later one of the head dwarfs called out it was time to break for a meal. Dean sighed with relief and followed them down the tunnel to the mouth of the cave.

Dean paused as he stepped into the bright sunlight and pulled the rag from his face to breathe in the clean, fresh air. He wiped the sweat from his eyes and smeared dirt and dust across his face. He headed for his hut to clean up before having lunch. A smile broke out on his face when he saw Titus running toward him to greet him.

"It's good to see you," Titus gasped giving Dean a quick hug before pulling him toward the center of town. "Come on, the food is ready, and I helped make the bread."

"Okay," Dean laughed at Titus's excitement. "But first I need to wash off some dirt," he told the boy slapping at his clothes to remove dirt and dust.

"We're eating in the round building," Titus told him running off toward the building.

Dean shook his head as he watched the boy run off. He was glad he was fitting in okay, and the dwarfs seemed to have accepted them. He stepped into their hut to wash off as best he could. What he wouldn't give for a tub of hot water to soak in, but that would have to wait until they got back to the castle. He knew he must stink but he had gotten used to it by now.

When Dean entered the meeting house, he was surprised to see dwarfs everywhere serving food to those sitting around the tables. Titus stood and waved to him to get his attention.

"Over here," Titus called. "I saved you a seat."

Dean made his way through the scurrying dwarfs and took a seat on a large bench since the chairs were too small. He made room for Titus to sit and surveyed what was being offered to eat. There were meats, vegetables, stews, breads, and other delicious dishes. Dean wasn't sure where to start and took a helping of all the dishes to sample. The ones that appealed to him, he took seconds. The food was hearty, delicious, and filling.

"Oh man, do I see pies?" Dean asked when the female dwarfs brought trays of pies to the table. "I've died and gone to Heaven…" he cooed in delight.

"Look how many kinds they have," Titus added not sure what to try first.

"We may have to take some slices back with us for later. Since I'm working in the mine this afternoon, I better not overdo it."

"Yeah, that wouldn't be a pretty sight," Titus giggled happily.

Dean gently slapped Titus on the back of the head as he smiled at him. They finished their meal and Dean walked around the village to let his food settle before heading back to the cave to join the dwarfs again in their work. They had a short break at midday and called it quits for the day when the sun touched the western horizon.

"Man, I'm getting too old for this manual labor crap," Dean groaned as he emerged from the mouth of the cave.

"Are you done for the day?" Titus asked expectantly.

"Yeah, Ty, I think that's it for the day." He shuffled toward their hut like an old man feeling every ache and pain in his body. 'One day down and six more to go,' he thought with a sigh wondering how Titus had so much energy as he ran ahead of him talking to some small dwarfs that he thought were his age. If anyone could make friends it was kids.

spn

After eating a delicious meal, Dean got together some buckets and divided hot water among and then added cold to make it tepid. He stripped down to his briefs and poured a bucket over his head to try and wash away some of the grim and dust from a day of working in the mine. After soaping himself down, he used the others to rinse with and used the homemade towels to dry off. He startled when some tinkling of giggles got his attention and saw some female dwarfs watching him from the side of their hut. With nothing else to do, he bowed and threw them a wave as he cinched a towel around his hips. This sent the women running from him giggling and laughing harder as they glanced back at him.

"I don't know about you, but I'm turning in early tonight," Dean told Titus as he tried to suppress a yawn.

"Oh, yeah, these were brought for you to wear," Titus told him pointing to some clean clothes on his bed. "I'm not sure they'll fit since you are bigger than the dwarfs."

Dean stepped to the bed and shook out an oversized shirt that had been handmade. He slipped it over his damp head and let it fall over his body. It was a little tight across the shoulders, but it would do. The pants fit snuggly like a second skin, and he was happy that they had give when he moved. They were too short, but he could deal with that.

"What happened to my other clothes?" he questioned.

"They were taken to be washed, along with mine," Titus answered. "See, I got new clothes too," he said spinning around for Dean to see.

"At least they fit you better than me."

"Can I go play with some of the young ones?"

"Sure, but don't stay out too late." Dean dropped to his bed and stretched out thinking it felt good to just lay down and relax. He heard Titus' voice outside and picked up on music coming from somewhere nearby. Deep, male voices began to sing in a language he didn't know but he seemed to understand the meaning anyway. He was asleep within minutes knowing tomorrow would be another long day for him, but he would not give in and quit. This was his way of getting back home to Sammy.

A/N: One day down and six to go. Dean will be glad when this task is over. Thank you to any guests who have left reviews. They are appreciated. Reviews/Comments would be great. NC