Hermitcraft: Storage with Style

by Nighshae

A Hermitcraft tale: It's been months since the group arrived at their newest colony site, and Tango Tek's tired of tripping over chests. It's time to get down to getting his base organized!

"Ouch! Crap!" There was a long moment of silence, then more words echoed up out of the nearby hole. "Whoa… Okay, enough is enough."

Nearly invisible and completely ethereal, the little scout zipped down into the huge crater it called home, flying easily through the air to stop near a small, roughly shaped platform that floated a dozen lengths above the ground. *Are you all right? * it asked, clearly concerned by the outburst it had heard.

Sitting on the edge of his bed, Tango glanced over his shoulder at his companion. "Yeah, only thing hurt is my pride," he assured the floating mote as he latched on the pieces of his diamond armor. "I think it's time I got to work on that storage area, though, this place is getting dangerous."

The little mote called HC bobbled around so that Tango could sit easily on the bed again and see him without twisting his neck. *Well, the Titan is running steadily now, the rocket shop is in good shape and Impulse is busy in his base today, so it looks like your day is clear, * he was assured. *If there's anything you need to worry about, I'm not aware of it. *

"Good to hear. Get some rest, I won't need you until later, if at all," Tango assured one of his closest friends, and smiled to himself as the little creature zipped off to the tiny redstone-lined cave he'd made for it to rest and recharge.

Rising, Tango brushed the last traces of sleep from his eyes before putting on his helmet and carefully winding his way through the mass of chests, shulker boxes and bookcases that made up his current living platform. The platform was far too small for his needs, it hadn't been intended to hold as much as he had on it now, and it was definitely time to start getting his favorite storage area up and running.

Hopping up on his bed, he looked around the deep cavern he'd made with the help of some of his fellow Hermits. He'd created the crater that led down into the hole, blasting it down nearly to the bedrock, then gotten others to help carve the huge square chamber out by planting hidden chests and shulker boxes with tempting prizes through the stone to make a game of digging the entire place out. A handful of Hermits had embraced the challenge, eager for the tempting prizes, and they'd dug the chamber out in less than a day.

"Okay, now, where to put this?" he mused, looking into the dark corners of his 'hole' and letting his eyes shift to better see what was really there. Eyes glowing bright red, he could see in lower light than almost any of the others without using potions, especially where redstone flowed close to the surface of the floor and walls.

This was his 'gift', the trademark of his family clan, the Tek. Legends told of their great redstone builds, huge machines and tiny ones that made life easier for others and took their people to new worlds to explore and settle. That's what the group he had joined did, exploring new worlds, building great buildings, storage systems and farms that would allow the people who followed them to live in relative comfort and safety.

Tango himself hadn't planned on joining the group that called themselves 'Hermits'. He had had family and kin back on the world of his birth, a wife and children that he took time to see when he could so they wouldn't forget him. He'd been comfortable with his life, creating the great iron farms that had become his trademark and learning to be a master of the Redstone craft. He had never planned on joining a group of 'settlers'.

Then a messenger had arrived one day, appearing breathless and worried at his grandfather's craft hall. Dressed in shades of purple, green and gray, the stranger had a mask that covered his face, keeping Tango and others who saw him arrive from getting a good look at him.

The stranger had talked to the first Tek to meet him, then followed Tango's uncle off to see the Master of the Tek clan, his grandfather. Tango had watched him go, curious, then shrugged and gone back to work on the plans he was working on for a bulk storage system.

He'd been deep in thought when one of others cleared his throat to get his attention. "You're wanted at the Hall, Tango," the younger Tek told him, giving him an apologetic half shrug for having startled him. "The stranger is there, talking with Grandfather, and they sent me to get you."

"I wonder what they want me for?" he mused, rising and heading for the huge meeting hall. Yes, he was a redstone Master, but still, there were others who were better than he was around here.

Unless…. Well, the one thing he excelled in was making the great iron farms, and surely one of the settlements hadn't tried to build a Foundry. He knew several had gotten ahold of the plans for his Iron Trench, but the Iron Foundry was brand new, and he'd been very selective as to who would get the design.

His grandfather turned, motioning for him to join himself and the stranger as soon as Tango entered the large meeting Hall. "This is Xisumavoid," he stated, motioning to the man with him. "He's come seeking some answers to his colony's iron problem."

Tango turned his attention from his grandfather to the stranger, some of his questions suddenly answered. "Void… You're a void walker?" he asked. "Someone who makes portals between worlds?"

"Yes," was the immediate reply, the stranger's voice young and pleasant to the ear. He seemed friendly, but it was strange not being able to clearly see his face under his rather odd mask. "I'm one of two redstone masters among my team, the Hermits, and a short time ago my fellow craftsman started setting up one of your iron farms."

That was rather startling, Tango had made the plans for his first iron farm public years before. Most redstone engineers were quite familiar with the specs for it by the time he'd started working on the Iron Foundry. "He's having trouble with a Trench?"

Xisuma shook his head. "No, we have an older iron farm design that was set up without too much trouble," was the immediate answer. "The issues arose when he started working on your newer design."

That caught both Tango and his grandfather by surprise. "How did he get ahold of the design specs for a Foundry?" the younger Tek questioned.

"I thought you hadn't handed those out yet?" stated the elder Tek.

"I've only given the design to one other clan, the Jumbo's," Tango assured him, then looked back at Xisuma. "You have a Jumbo in your group and they're having trouble building a Foundry?"

"Mumbo is very young," was the immediate reply. "He's not quite eighteen yet."

"I didn't think their clan leaders let them leave that young," the elder Tek stated, his disapproval clear. "Our wandering Tek's don't leave before they're at least twenty-five."

"He and I have been good friends for a long time," Xisuma stated calmly, using his tone of voice to try to sooth the older man. "I admit that I'm not much older than he is."

"Well, hopefully I can help set him straight," Tango mused. "You have a way for he and I to talk?"

"Yes, I have a communications link," Xisuma assured him.

"Good to hear. Grandfather, I'll take Void Walker Xisuma over to my office and help get this sorted out. Chances are, it's something simple and I can get him back on the right track."

The older Tek nodded, but the look he gave Xisuma seemed full of warnings. If the void walker noticed it, he gave no sign of response. Instead, he gave the senior Tek a short bow, then followed Tango from the room and off to a less busy area of the compound.

Tango took the time to show him how to get from the enclave entrance to his office. "This way, if you have to return, you'll know how to get directly to me," he pointed out. "You just need to tell the gate guards who you are and who you've come to meet and why. If I'm not in my office, they usually know where I'm at and will send someone to get me while you wait."

The younger man seemed relieved with the news that he could likely avoid the older Tek in the future. "Thank you, I'm sure the Tek is quite busy, and I would hate to take up more of his time than I need to," was the immediate reply. "Hopefully you'll be able to set Mumbo to rights, though, and I won't have to return."

"What's it like, going from one world to another?" Tango questioned, curious, as they crossed the carved stone courtyard that was the entry of the enclave. "I've never been off the home world except for trips to the nether."

Xisuma had been looking around him as they walked, taking in the sights, but now he gave his full attention to Tango. "We're on our second world now, actually, and it's a truly beautiful one, full of things to explore and see." He looked upward, drawing Tango's attention up to the tall, beautiful buildings around them both. "Your enclave here, it's quite stunning to see, but there's much to be said about stepping through a portal to a new world, untouched by any crafter's hand except by the will of the Great Builder themselves. There is great beauty out there in nature."

"I've seen images," was the thoughtful reply. "My father joined a colony group when I was very young. I don't really remember him much at all, he never returned. None of them ever returned, not even the Void Walker that led the group."

His companion nodded in understanding and some sympathy. "It can happen, that something occurs as they arrive, and a group can be lost," Xisuma admitted. "My people always seek out sheep, for wool, and make beds as soon as possible so that we're safely established as quickly as we can be."

Tango knew there was little more than could be done for the travelers than that, but his children, meeting Xisuma later after Tango had a long talk with the younger Mumbo, had questions about that. "Why don't you just take beds with you?" one asked.

"Going world to world, we take nothing with us at all but our skins," the Void Walker explained. "When we leave a world, we leave all that we have made behind for those that come to live on that world, and we go forth with nothing but our own skills to settle and colonize the next world we decide to explore."

"Don't you miss your family?" the youngest questioned.

"They moved on a long time ago," was the sad answer. "My parents were both colonists, and when the group they were with choose to move on, they left me with friends who had made the decision to stay, while my older sister went with them. I will admit that I miss them, sometimes, but I know they're out there somewhere, and eventually I will find word of where they are."

"We went to the Nether a while ago, daddy took us through a portal to get there. Is that at all like going to another world?"

Xisuma chuckled at the thought. "In a way, yes. But it's a much, much longer step."

Later, as Tango said his farewell at the enclave's gate, he paused, thinking about what the Void Walker had said to his children. "Is it really like going through to the Nether?"

"It's very similar," came the reply. "But it does take a great deal more time to get from world to world." Turning away, Xisuma gave him a wave. "See you around, Tango. I have the feeling this won't be the last trip I make for Mumbo's project."

Two trips later, after seeing Xisuma off again, Tango went to his grandfather. "If he comes back again, I'll have to go back with him," he stated softly. "They've removed the old iron farm, and if they don't get the Foundry up and running soon, they're going to start having trouble. Their need for iron on the world they're on is pretty high."

"You've never been to another world," the older Tek pointed out, his voice stern with some hints of disapproval at the idea of Tango leaving. "Are you sure you want to do that?"

"It's more of a need to, rather than a want to," the younger man admitted. "Though to see real, unmodified land…. I will admit to being curious. There's no place here on this world that hasn't been modified in some way."

"Just keep in mind, unmodified worlds are dangerous worlds," his grandfather reminded him, then sent him off home.

*Tango, are you all right? * asked a concerned voice, breaking Tango out of his memories.

Looking around, he caught sight of his little friend floating just above the bookshelves, and gave it a half wave. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking back about some things. Go on, I thought you were going to get some rest?"

*You're sure? * came the hesitant reply.

"I'm fine, HC, just thinking about how I came to join the Hermits," Tango assured him. "You said you checked the Titan?"

*It's running just fine, though you might need to go out tomorrow and empty chests, * was the immediate reply. *They're getting full, but there's no overflow yet. *

"Good to know. Now, go get some rest," Tango stated, moving to a large chest nearby and opening it. Inside was a selection of small bags in a myriad of different colors, each of them containing a selection of bright, carefully carved blocks the size of his thumb. The magic of the tools he used held them together as he looked the selection over, drawing out a number of them that held blocks made of colored terracotta, then picked up a small box that contained a number of carved wooden and leather frames.

Setting the pile down together at the top of the stairs leading down onto the 'ground' level of his base, Tango paused and settled his tool belt around his waist, checking each item to be sure it was where he needed it to be and that it wasn't too worn down. The last thing he needed was for something to break because he'd waited too long to repair it. He paid the most attention to his mining pick and his sword, then checked his Elytra, and made sure that he had a full stack of rockets before he finally picked up his materials again and headed for the far corner of the base.

Eyes running over the walls, looking for any of the mobs that might attack him when he landed, Tango winced once or twice when his eyes found bright splashes of red actually deep in the rock itself. It was a mixed gift, the Tek ability to actually see the redstone buried in the walls of the cavern, but the advantages of having it far outweighed the liability it occasionally became….

"Be ready to close your eyes when we arrive," Xisuma warned as they met at the special portal the Void Walkers used to take their colonists from one world to another. "I've never worked with a Tek before, so I'm unsure how this journey could affect you."

"I'll keep that in mind," Tango assured him, setting his armor, tools and weapons into a chest in a small room with many other such boxes, including one that Xisuma was putting his own gear into on the other side of the door. Tango's box was clearly marked with a sign that read 'Visitor', and his things would be waiting there for him to take when he returned through the portal later. There were many such chests, each with a different name on it, and the sign above the doorway had Xisuma's name on it, so it was likely these chests contained the gear of the group that were simply referred to as 'the Hermits'.

After giving him one more thoughtful, considering look, Xisuma turned to exit the room and lead him down a corridor to the waiting portal. After placing his hand on it and concentrating a long moment, the Void Walker drew it back and motioned for Tango to follow as he stepped through.

Going through portals was always disorienting, but Tango had done it many times, going to the nether of his world to retrieve lava, netherbrick and shining quartz as needed for the projects he worked on. The Nether was dark, but radiated a low light that he'd always found to be soothing to look at.

The sudden, flashing glare of red wasn't what he was expecting at all, and he barely had time to realize there was redstone everywhere around him before darkness swept in, and he knew nothing more….

"What happened to him?" an anxious voice questioned, the speaker clearly concerned. "Xisuma, if he's been hurt somehow just by coming here…!"

"It's all right, Mumbo, he just needs some time to adjust," was the calmer reply. "Hopefully he'll be waking soon, but in the meantime, we should let him rest. Did you bring the obsidian I asked you to fetch?"

"Yes, I have it right here," replied the first voice, the two of them growing distance as darkness swept in once more.

Tango found waking the second time was easier as he cracked open his eyes. Yes, there were bright patches of red around him, but it wasn't as bad as it had been before and blinking a few times helped him adjust to the bright light as he brought his hand up to help shield his sight.

The room he was in was very, very dark, but small, just large enough for the bed he was lying on and a small space beside it. There was an opening on the wall to leave it just a few steps away, near the head of the bed, and he carefully sat up to better see what was around him, starting with the walls themselves.

"Oh, good, you're awake," came a now familiar voice. Xisuma appeared at the door, dressed in bright blue diamond armor with a well-equipped work belt around his waist. "I was hoping you would recover fairly quickly, but it's been several hours since we came through the portal."

"Yeah, so what happened?" Tango questioned, looking more closely at the wall around him. "And why am I in an obsidian box?"

Xisuma shifted over to lean against the wall opposite him, leaving the doorway clear. "You got hit, I believe, by a redstone overload. I was hoping that the obsidian would dim things down a bit to give you some time to adjust."

Frowning, Tango thought about that as he looked around him, then rubbed his stinging eyes. "I've been around redstone all my life. This is the first time I can remember it knocking me out."

"You've been around tame redstone all your life," Xisuma corrected. "Redstone back on the home world comes from old, old reserves and the big witch farms. There is no buried redstone left, it was all mined out a few generations ago. Here, however, we have tons of it underground, including some very large deposits right near the portal. I believe that it was the glare from them that knocked you unconscious."

"My word," stated a younger voice from the doorway. Tango turned, startled, to see a young man there who's most distinguishing feature, by far, was the fancy mustache that matched his black hair. "I've never seen even a Tek who's eyes glowed that bright."

"Well, you've never seen a Tek who wasn't back on the home world," Xisuma pointed out as he raised his right hand, palm up, into the air. "Hello there, HC."

Tango started again as a bright little voice answered, but didn't… The sound wasn't audible, but rather like someone was speaking, faintly, in the back of his mind. *Good morning, Master X. *

Xisuma let out a rather exasperated sigh, but didn't respond as he turned back to Tango. "Can you see him?" he questioned, arm extended so that Tango could easily see the palm of his hand.

Blinking, Tango considered the air above the Void Walker's fingers. "I see… like a shimmer," he mused, eyes narrowing to block out other distractions as he studied something that barely seemed to be there at all. "Like something is there, but not there."

"HC and others like him are our scouts, our eyes in the sky as it were," the younger man stated. "Only the Void Walkers can create them, but anyone can bond with one. Xisuma has made them for all of us over the last few years."

"I created HC when I came home from my third trip to talk to you," Xisuma explained. "I had you in mind when I did so; things weren't going well, and I think we were all starting to realize that the only way you were going to be able to help Mumbo with the Foundry was to actually travel off the home world."

"I can hear him," Tango admitted, holding out his own hand and letting Xisuma drop the barely visible object into his palm. "Can they travel through portals with you?"

"Oh yes," Xisuma assured him. "Hold him with both hands, close your eyes, and think only of him for a moment… That should let you bond to each other."

Tango did as he directed, starting a little as an image of himself began to form in his mind. "It's like… I can see myself."

"It's HC looking at you," Xisuma explained. "He does not, however, have your ability to see redstone. So, if things start getting overwhelming, you could call him to hover over you, close your eyes, and use him to see where you're going. It's not a perfect solution, but he should be able to help you get by until you adapt to having so much raw redstone around."

Xisuma sobered a bit. "I have to apologize," he stated. "I knew your coming here could change you, but I wasn't sure how. I should have warned you. I'm afraid, when you go back to the home world, you're going to find that world to be a whole lot dimmer than you remember it being."

*Tango, you're really distracted today, *came HC's cheerful voice a third time. *Fortunately for you, your instincts seem to be awake and you at least pillared up before you started woolgathering. *Tango blinked a bit, then chuckled as he realized he was standing on top of a half dozen blocks of terracotta. "Was remembering when we first got together," he explained.

"So, since you don't seem to need to rest, help me figure out where I'm going to build this new storage system."

*This corner? * HC questioned, zipping towards an area nearby where the wall cut back more into the corner. *What color scheme this time? *

"Not sure yet," Tango admitted, drawing his sword as he hopped down off the small pillar he'd made to stand on. A series of zombies had appeared a short distance away, and he knew it was only a matter of time before they reached him. Pulling out a series of terracotta cubes from his pouches, he set up several three high pillars, each of them paired with trunks between them. Stepping back, he struck down three zombies who came around from behind them, then turned back to look them over. Gray, cyan, red, light gray… and gray.

*You've already got that one out there, * HC pointed out just as Tango realized the same. Shaking his head, he did one more, putting out 'blue' terracotta, which in that light looked more like purple. *That's better, it matches the first building of the new village you've started to put together. *

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking," Tango admitted, backing up to look at the selection and then jumping aside, drawing his sword, as two more zombies appeared and attacked him. "Geeze, you think these guys are excited about my new storage room?" he joked with a laugh as he struck both of them down.

*They're certainly excited about something, * HC replied dryly, going up higher to be sure he was out of Tango's sword range. A glancing blow wouldn't hurt him, much, but a good, solid hit would put him out of action for days, so he tried to stay away from any fighting as much as possible.

After getting rid of the zombies, Tango headed for the area he'd cut back to put his new storage system in. Flying over the dry creek bed he'd made for a small lake and a narrow river that would cross the big dig, he landed on the other side and quickly paced off the area to get some idea where he'd need to put the main room. He'd done this design so many times, he knew just how big it needed to be to fit properly into the area, but he had some additions planned for this one that needed to be taken into account as well. Putting down a block, he leaped on top of it, then he jumped upwards, putting a block under his feet to make the pillar higher. Fifteen, twenty jumps were all he needed and he switched blocks, pulling out shinning white quartz blocks to start building the framework that would be the base of his storage room.

No one was quite sure how the magic worked that caused the thumb sized blocks to grow as they did, but they all knew how to build with it. Take a tiny block, go to lay it where you wanted it, and it somehow expanded into a much larger, very solid block by the time it hit the ground. Broken by shovel, pick, axe, hoe or shears, depending on what the target block was made up of, it came loose as a tiny block once again, ready to be picked up to be placed elsewhere, or stored away to be used to craft other projects.

Pulling out a handful of tiny quartz blocks, Tango set about laying the groundwork for the new storage room, a room that consisted of a three-step high platform in the middle, with stacks of chests and columns of blue terracotta forming walls on three sides. The fourth side stayed open, allowing him to easily fly into the area, as he had to do at least once when a misstep landed him down among a group of rowdy zombies. "Whoops! Hi, friends! Is there a party here I didn't know about?" he quipped, drawing his sword. Laughing at himself, he knocked several of them back with his weapon to get the room he needed to get up in the air.

For the most part, HC stayed quiet as Tango worked, muttering to himself as he set up the familiar pattern of chests and terracotta pillars. It was a design he'd used many times before, his office back on the home world was set up the same way, and he was so familiar with it he barely had to count to set it up. "Pillar, chest, chest, pillar, space, pillar, chest, chest, pillar, turn and repeat…" Working around three sides, he turned to go back the way he'd come, hands moving even faster now as he set the blocks in the correct pattern.

Seven stacks high, the design was his own and fit his needs perfectly. From the central raised platform, he could reach almost any chest in the room without taking more than a few steps in any direction. Item frames on the pillars held a representative of what was in the chest beside it for reference, and he had used the system for so long that he it set up and sorted out in very little time.

Chests finished, he turned his attention to the top of the platform, considering what he wanted to do with it.

*Doing something different? * HC questioned, coming down to look the room over. *This looks just the same as the last one you built. *

"There's a couple of changes I have in mind," Tango mused, turning to look at the gap between two of the columns on one side of the room. A half high block of quart soon supported a crafting table, and he easily jumped up on top of it. "I'm glad Iskall isn't visiting today, this could give him nightmares. I'd have to warn him to look away," he laughed, pulling out a small, but very heavy pouch. In short order he had seven anvils stacked up over the top of the chests, and he moved to the opposite side of the room to do the same there. He placed some half slabs of finely cut stone around the top of the chests to mark where he might want to put a roof as he moved around, then glided back to the platform he'd been living off of.

After gathering up a number of shulker boxes he'd been using for storage, he flew back up to the top of the raised platform. "Okay, I've got something I want to try here," he told HC as he drew out his finest pickaxe. Working carefully, he knocked out the full blocks on the platform, leaving the stairs on three sides behind so that he still had an edge of stairs around the outside the platform. "I always end up with these things piled up all over the place," he complained as he started filling in the newly emptied area of the floor. "I figured I'd start taking them into account and stop having to jump over them."

HC watched as Tango set about fifteen shulkers down in a way so that they'd form the floor themselves. *So, bulk storage in the floor? *

Tango shook his head as he placed the last one, then opened up several of them to see what was in them. "No, I was thinking these would be work shulkers. If I can keep them empty, they'll be ready to go. If I need one for some project, I can just fill it, grab it and leave. That should make it a lot easier to deal with sudden projects."

*Indeed. Are you going to use the sorting system this time? *

"Not on everything, it slows things down too much. Maybe in the stacks though… I can set it up so that I can load things in the top chest and they'll work their way down as I clear things out below it, that could be handy."

*Good thought. And these open doorways you left? * HC questioned, zipping around to slip under the half slab that held the crafting table and stack of anvils up. *There's a pretty big area back here, plenty of room for more storage. *

"That's what I was thinking," Tango agreed, pulling out some half slabs and starting to lay them down through the opening to start creating a new room. Sea lanterns in the floor marked where he would put in more stacks of chests and provided good lighting as he considered his options.

His musing was interrupted, though, when a snowball came flying from the area where his bed and nether portal were still high over the ground. "Hey, no fair!" he exclaimed, dodging behind the nearby wall of chests with a laugh. "I don't have any snowballs!"

Pulling his bow and grabbing a normal arrow, he darted back out and shot at the intruder, laughing as the other Hermit dodged and disappeared through the portal again. The other man's bright white winter hat told him who it was. "Oh, that Cubfan. He's trying to get points for this month's contest."

*I heard the contest had changed, but not what it had changed to, * HC admitted, zipping upwards to check out the area for himself. *He's gone. *

"He'll be back," Tango assured him. "The contest is to see how many Hermits you can hit with a snowball. Unfortunately, I'm currently unarmed."

*That's not a good situation to be in, * HC agreed, scanning around the area. *I don't see CC in the area, though. *

"That's surprising, given the way those two work together. Keep an eye out for them, would you, I want to get this finished up."

*I will. *

Leaving his little scout to keep watch, Tango turned his attention back to his storage room, moving to set up the floor and chests on the other side from where he'd been working before. He'd just finished it up and came back into the central area when something caught his attention and HC shouted down a warning that CC was in the area….

"Oh yeah, someone is here," Tango laughed, drawing his sword. Swinging it around, he caught sight of just a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye and dived in that direction, pushing his way into the more open of the two side storage rooms. Two more swings with the flat of his blade caught something invisible, sending the lurker flying over the edge of the platform as Tango let out a laugh. Looking over the edge, Tango could see familiar gear lying on the floor below him and he glided down to give it a better examination. "Yep, this was Cub. Oops!" he exclaimed with a laugh.

"Whuyyyyy?" came the mournful wail from over by his portal, and Tango laughed again as he turned to see Cubfan looking down at him.

"That's what you get for trying to use a Potion of Invisibility to sneak up on me," he told the younger Hermit. "Come get your stuff before the mobs get out here and pick it up for you." He snagged up the most valuable of the items lying around, getting the man's elytra in hand while keeping an eye on the shadows around him.

It took Cub a few minutes to reach him, dodging various nuisances to get to get to where Tango was standing guard and latching on his gear as soon as he picked it up. Boots, pants and sword were closest, and he pulled on his helmet just as a pint-sized menace in gold armor reached him. Tango chuckled as the little zombert struck out at Cub, pushing him back a few steps. "You've got this, Cub," he encouraged, and soon enough the other Hermit had taken care of his little challenger. He grinned as Cub grabbed up the rest of his scattered things, holding the flying device just out of reach. "Missing something?" he taunted with a grin.

"Oh, come on," the other man exclaimed. In spite of his appearance, with his bald head and his long gray beard, Cubfan was actually younger than Tango, and one of the two biggest mischief makers in the colony. His partner in mischief, Scar, was apparently off working on some artistic project or another. "No fair!"

Laughing, Tango took out a zombie who had been getting too close, then let Cub take out another one before he tossed the coveted flying machine to him. "All right, I think that's worth the price of a snowball hit. Go ahead."

Snagging up the elytra and slipping it on, Cub sent a snowball flying to hit Tango in the shoulder, then took off, heading up and out of the underground lair to go find someone else to harass.

Chuckling, Tango headed back over to his bedside area to get the last of the shulker boxes, making sure he had all the glass and wool he currently possessed and taking it back over to the new storage area. Ducking over into the left-hand wing, he started setting things up, putting blocks of wool beside some chests to show what color items would be in them, then turning to do the same with glass blocks on the other. "Yeah, I like this," he stated when he was done, turning to consider the effect as HC zipped inside to check out what he'd been doing. "I got all the glass and wool in here, I'll put the concrete and terracotta on the other side."

*This seems a very good addition, * HC agreed, zipping around to see what was in each of the double sized chests. *It gives you more room in the central area and keeps things nice and neat in here. *

"Exactly," Tango responded, getting wood from a shulker box to build more chests, which he put down in the room on the right side of the storeroom in a way that it would mirror the left-side room. It didn't take long, and he set about clearing everything out of the sea of shulkers and into their chests in whichever part of the storeroom he felt they would best belong. From there he went through the collection of shulkers in his ender chest, pulling them one at a time and checking to be sure he everything he needed to continue the various projects he was working on around the island.

By the time he finished and have everything organized it was early evening and HC had gone back out again about a half hour before. Tango was sitting on his now cleared storage platform considering the back opening of the storeroom and what he could put there when the little scout finally returned. "Hey, HC. Find anything interesting?"

*You could say that, * came the immediate reply. *Did you know you're running a big fireworks sale? *

That brought Tango up to his feet again. "No, I didn't authorize any sale and I didn't set one up."

*I was pretty sure you hadn't, but apparently Xisuma, Doc and Welsknight thought you should be. * HC told him, amused. *There's even some very big signage around the rocket shop. *

Startled, Tango reached up to get a couple stacks of said flight rockets and headed to the open side of the storeroom, jumping off the edge and aimed straight up and out the underground base. HC immediately followed, looking forward to seeing a bit of a show.

It didn't take Tango long to reach his rocket shop, which indeed had huge banners out front indicating a sale was going on within. The biggest of these was a huge, four sided, red, black and white sign that floated over the top of the shop. No matter which direction you flew in from, there was no missing that there was a sale of some kind going on in his 'Tek to the Skies' shop below.

Circling around, Tango couldn't help but laugh at the prank the others had pulled on him. "No, I'm pretty sure I didn't have anything to do with setting this up," he told HC. Swinging around front again, he landed out beyond the first of the signs and walked his way up the path, laughing and shaking his head as he passed a good half dozen signs to get to the shops entrance. "They did a good job, though."

Going inside, Tango quickly checked the chests to be sure that nothing had been done to his merchandise. The shulker boxes had been sold out for some time, as had his extra elytra. There were rockets in the larger chests in the center of the shop, his main source of income, and he frowned at the 'free samples' sign that had been put up. A second scowl was aimed at the 'Four stacks for one diamond' sign that had been changed as well, he was pretty sure that it had been three for a diamond.

Opening up the first chest, he pulled out some diamonds that had been left for him, then checked the first stack of rockets that came to his hand. "Wait a minute here," he murmured, pausing to look them over carefully. They were the same red and white color he was used to crafting up, but he noticed a bulge in the center, something that shouldn't have been there, and let out a groan. "Oh, no, they didn't…."

Taking one rocket in hand, he set it off, shaking his head as it took off, then exploded into a bright spray of sparks. "Come on guys, that's not nice!" he laughed.

*Exploding fireworks? * HC questioned, startled into moving to a corner as Tango set about carefully examining the fireworks in each chest. *That doesn't work well for flying, does it? *

"Trying to fly with these rockets can kill you," Tango explained. "I need to get these out of here, but I'm going to keep them. There's plenty of opportunity to use them, but not for flying. I don't mind a good firework show once in a while and they've given me all sorts of the good stuff for holding one. Stay here, will you, and warn the Grifter that today's not a good day for his buddy, Grian, to come through and restock his flight rockets. I'll be back in a bit with the real stuff."

*No problem, * HC assured him, and Tango stepped back out to fly back to his base.

A fast trip north and back and he had the shop properly restocked, putting the explosive rockets away in chests under the floor of the shop and refilling the chests full of the flight rockets that were his main merchandise. Finished, he knocked down the 'free samples' sign, but considered the 'one diamond for four stacks' sign thoughtfully. "You know, they went through a lot of trouble to set this sale up," Tango mused. "Let's let it run this week, I can afford to be bit generous."

*I can think of several Hermits who will appreciate that, * HC agreed. *I saw the Grifter out and about, and we all know that Grian goes through more rockets than anyone else. I could let him know about the sale? *

"Yeah, go ahead. He's been one of my best customers since we got the shop up and running," Tango chuckled as he headed out, checking all the signage to be sure that nothing was up with any of them. Most were banner style, rather than being like the wooden ones he used to mark his prices. They were hard to move or change, so he just left them alone for the time being.

Returning home after a quick trip to the holiday area north of his base, he landed at the top of the hill that held the drop down, and took a seat where he knew that mobs couldn't reach him. He'd slept the night before, so he knew the nightmare Phantoms wouldn't bother him, and he could do his thinking in peace.

The green grass under his hands made him think back again to that first trip out to meet the other Hermits….

Standing just outside the door of the building he'd woken up in, Tango looked around him in wonder. "I've… never seen so much color," he told Xisuma, who was waiting patiently beside him. "Is that… grass?"

"Yes," was the equally soft reply. "There is no grass left on our home world, the last of it died off a few generations ago. If it weren't for banners and paintings, all carefully preserved family heirlooms, there would be no colors there at all."

"I never realized… how gray our world is," Tango murmured, then gave himself a shake. "So, where's Mumbo's iron farm and what's the easiest way to get there?"

"I sent him to get our ride," Xisuma assured him as a clip-clop sound became noticeable behind them. "And here he comes now."

The next few hours were like a dream to Tango. He'd never seen a horse before, much less ridden on one, and Xisuma and Mumbo had taken him on quite a tour of the area before they finally reached the new farm.

All in all, it hadn't taken him long to find the issue, a simple error in counting on Mumbo's part, and they left him to take care of it while Xisuma showed him more of where they lived.

Later that evening, after eating and meeting more of the colony, the Void Walker escorted him back to the portal that would take him home again. "It's been good having you here, Tango," he stated, offering his hand for a shake after setting the portal for him. "HC will return with you, you just need to make him a little redstone nest that he can draw energy from. I think you'll find him useful, and most will never even notice him."

"Thank you for bringing me here," Tango told him as HC blinked from his position over Tango's head. With all the redstone in the area, the little scout was helping Tango deal with it by sharing what he was seeing so that his new bondmate could give his own eyes a rest. "I'm glad to have been able to help Mumbo get that iron farm up and running, and you've shown me a lot of things I've never seen before."

"Good things, I hope," Xisuma told him. The younger man paused a moment, shifting slightly on his feet with apparent unease, then spoke again, voice much lower. "I never meant to bring you here, Tango, don't let anyone ever tell you different. I really had hoped that you wouldn't have to leave our home world to help us."

Tango shrugged. "This trip has given me a lot to think about," he stated. "And thank you for the opportunity to see the kind of life our people could be living. And for HC, I have the feeling he's going to be very busy back home."

*I'm always happy to help, * HC assured him. *Ready to go? *

"Yeah, I want to see the kids," Tango admitted. "And talk to my wife. Xisuma, don't be a stranger, okay? I want to hear how you're doing out here."

Xisuma chuckled softly. "I don't come to home world often, but I'll try to stop by the next time I do."

Reaching up, Tango offered his hand to HC, who came down to land in his palm. The trip back was long, and neither wanted to take the chance that the tiny scout might be lost in the void.

Back home, late that evening, Tango stood in the doorway of his children's rooms to watch them sleep and thought about the life they could be living, out there on another world. HC was resting up on top of a bookshelf, blocks of redstone around him to give him a place to rest and recharge. The little scout and the kids had hit it off immediately, the children better able to see him than Tango's wife did. Tango was pretty sure that HC wasn't going to get bored any time soon…

*Tango, why are you sitting up here? * HC questioned, breaking into his thoughts yet again. *I keep finding you in strange places, daydreaming. *

Chuckling, Tango leaned back on his hands to look up at the little scout. "I've been thinking all day about how different my life is now compared to how it could have been. If I hadn't decided to join the Hermits… I don't know what I'd be doing right now."

HC hovered in thoughtful silence for a long moment, and his voice was soft when he finally spoke. *Master X never meant to cause so much disruption in your family. Especially between you and your grandfather. *

"I know that," Tango stated, then sighed. "You didn't go with me my last trip home…. I won't be returning to our home world again. My wife and family are set up now in a nice place not far from the iron farm Mumbo built on that second world. Xisuma says he can send me there to visit when I want."

*What about your grandfather, the Tek? * HC questioned hesitantly. *You don't want to visit him? *

"He's gone," Tango stated softly. "The last time I went back, he'd passed two days before I returned. He never approved my joining the Hermits, and the new Tek, my uncle, told me he wanted me to return to home world to take up where I'd left off, building new iron farms. I called Xisuma instead, and we moved my family to that second world. By the time we came back, the kids all had horses from X's stables and my wife was planting a huge garden. A few iron golems roam the area to keep anything hostile away, and the kids have already tamed a pack of wolves and a few cats to help them. They're safe there, and very happy."

*I'm glad to hear that, * HC told him softly, dropping lower so that Tango didn't have to strain his neck to see him. *And I'm sorry to hear about your grandfather. He was only doing what he thought was best for your family, you know. *

"Yeah, I know, but the home world is dead, or nearly so," Tango stated, leaning back again and crossing his ankles. "There's big farms, yes, and no one is in danger of starving, but more people wear iron instead of diamond for protection, and there's very little color there now. Xisuma was right when he warned me that everything would seem very dim when I returned from that first trip. After seeing the bright colors of grass and flowers, going back to that gray world was rather painful."

Sitting up, he rose to look over the lake that surrounded the pillar of stone that he was standing on. Under the water, the glow of lights below shone up through the glass that made up areas of the lake bed. "I want to work on other areas of the lake, get more glass into place and the dirt cleared away. There're more buildings to make down below, and I still want to bring Scar in to help me with some landscaping. I keep getting distracted from working on this place."

*Did you see Scar this afternoon? I thought you were going to put in an order for the mall's holiday tree? *

Tango nodded, eyes still on the glow coming up through the water below. "Yeah, I took care of it, but I'm not sure Scar is around right now, it may be a while before he gets to it. Doc's already put in an order, probably for the Stock Exchange."

*Not a lot of room there, it shouldn't take Scar long to get that done, * HC mused. *Hopefully he'll be back soon, and I'll let BT know about the orders if I see him. In the meantime, shouldn't we be going inside for the night? *

Tango rose to his feet, automatically checking his elytra and pulling out a handful of rockets. "Yeah, you're probably right. I need to figure out where I'm going to move my bed tomorrow and get the portal and enchanting table moved so I can take that platform down. It'll be nice to get it out of the way." Turning towards the entrance, he moved around to catch the waterfall he'd put there, riding it down for a bit before leaving the water to sail across to where his bed waited, the shulker boxes and chests now gone from the platform. Without them being there, he only had to maneuver around the enchanting area and the portal itself to reach his bed. "Thanks for sticking around, HC, it was a really strange day today and you helped me stay on track."

*Your mind was busy, * was the reply, the little scout hovering close as Tango took off his armor. *It's been a while since you've visited your family. Perhaps it's time to take a break? *

"Maybe after we get the holiday area finished," Tango mused, pulling off his armored boots. He checked each one carefully before setting them aside for morning, then added the rest of his gear piece by piece. "I was surprised by how much snow's up there. I don't know how they did it, but they got the area pretty well covered."

*Mostly it was Master X's idea, * HC explained, bobbing happily as Tango climbed into bed and pulled the covers over himself. *It was pretty funny, really, watching him lead a pack of snow golems around on leashes to create a large snow path. He called it 'snow-mowing'. *

Chuckling to himself at the thought, Tango closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Hermitcraft is a private, vanilla, whitelist only server for Youtubers. This is a special invite-only server and is not open to the public for play, but the builds and antics of the Hermits are on display. More information is available at .com

Author's Notes: If you are seeing this story posted on a fanfic site, it is because at least one of the Hermits themselves have read the story and approve of its distribution. These characters are theirs, and I am honored if they allow me to use them.

This story was loosely based off Tango Tek's Season 6 episode, "Storage, Trees and Fireworks?" Some changes were made to create the backstory, but I've stayed as true to the episode as I could. The event of the Season 2 backstory that first brought Tango to the Hermitcraft server was the problem Mumbo Jumbo had building Tango's Iron Foundry farm. The rest of the backstory was created for this tale. The little 'scouts', such as HC, are the spectator camera accounts each player has available to use when doing time lapse footage or need to get long shots of large builds. Or, in Tango's case, when he's wanting to sneak into Cubfan's redstone to get close enough to catch him by surprise and tag him.

"Storage, Trees and Fireworks?": watch?v=JM7W1kosSV0&list=PL8t707flkqpdg6OkNMJ6IREsFXN3UDsmn&index=32

Hermits seen in this story, and their YouTube channels:

Tango Tek - channel/UC4YUKOBld2PoOLzk0YZ80lw

Xisumavoid - channel/UCU9pX8hKcrx06XfOB-VQLdw

Mumbo Jumbo - channel/UChFur_NwVSbUozOcF_F2kMg

Cubfan135 - channel/UC9lJXqw4QZw-HWaZH6sN-xw