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Chapter 6 | L'appel Du Vide

WC: 2329
Warnings: Death

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Flying around Hermitcraft was such a thrill in itself—and that wasn't including all the stunning builds Ranboo and Grian flew past on their way to the Shopping District.

It had been Grian's idea to start from the center of their world—namely, the Shopping District—and branch their way outwards. They could have taken the Nether hub to get to the area faster, but the extra time it took traveling via Overworld was worth it.

Each Hermit's base seemed to be in its own little world; they were so different from one another. One base was futuristic and geometric, using a monochrome block palette made mostly out of concrete. Blue accents ringed the towers that rose out of the ocean, and glass tunnels connected the smaller towers to the central, much larger one.

Just a little way to the left was a series of colorful towers, built in a curved, fun style that reminded Ranboo of old cartoons. The grass on the ground was replaced with bright green concrete powder, further amplifying the cheery, oversaturated look of the whole base. Even the trees were specially terraformed—their leaves were a bright mixture of pink and magenta glass.

"That's Falsesymmetry's base over there," Grian said, pointing to the cyberpunk towers. "And that's Tango's Toon Towers." He pointed to the cartoony base.

Grian smiled at Ranboo, noticing the latter's look of awe. "And that's just two bases, man. Wait 'til you see some of the others."

The tour of the Shopping District flew by quickly since Ranboo had already seen it once before. They stopped momentarily to talk with a few Hermits in the area—one of them being Stress, who had been the one to knit the sweater vest Ranboo wore.

"I'm glad to see that vest fits you," she'd said with a small grin. "It's nice to finally meet you, by the way!"

The other two Hermits with Stress had been Iskall, another Hermit who lived in the jungle biome with Grian and Scar, and Mumbo, whom Ranboo remembered Grian mentioning before.

Ranboo was even taller than Mumbo, which had greatly amused the others—from what Grian told him afterward, Mumbo tended to tease the others about how tall he was compared to them.

"Now he knows how we feel," Grian had said. "Still, I *can't believe* you're taller than Mumbo, what the hell..."

As they were exiting the Shopping District, Ranboo noticed a little build on the side of a mountain, just to the north. "Hey, Grian...can we start over there? What's that thing by that mountain?"

Grian followed his gaze and smiled when he saw what had caught Ranboo's attention. "Oh, that. Yeah, sure, let's go down there. Maybe he's home."

They touched down on the sandy shore of the mountain.

Now that he was closer, Ranboo could see that the thing he'd noticed was actually a replica of someone's face, made out of stone. As he watched it for a bit longer, the eyes shifted to one side, which made him jump back in surprise.

"What the heck?"

Grian burst into laughter. "Sorry, should have warned you. Zed's base is a little, I dunno...quirky, I guess? For lack of a better term. He's a redstoner, but he likes to take a more fun approach than what you're probably used to—finding new ways to power the circuitry, deliver items around, you get the idea. This is his base."

"The...the face?"

"Nah, that's just one of his contraptions. Zedaph lives inside the mountain, inside a cave." Grian pointed towards a simple iron door embedded in the mountain.