I had pinched the cube from the bigfolk’s camp, too busy with their drink and stories to notice a goblin sneaking in. It shimmered, twisting light like a pool after rain. They had called it the danger cube, and me ears pricked up at the sound, at the possibilities it held within.
I scuttled back to me cave, untouched by moonlight, away from watchful eyes. With a hiss, I spoke the command words I’d heard. The cube twitched, spinning faster than a kicked turtle, and out sprang an illusion—a beast of glowing light, big and mean but not real. Real enough, though, when it came at me, teeth gnashing, claws swinging, forcing me to jump and jab, testing every twitch of my fingers.
The days melted into each other as the cube kept on with its tricks. Sometimes it made my hits land harder, faster, like I had ogre blood in my veins. Other times, my skin toughened, turning back blows that would’ve squashed me flat. The cube pushed and prodded, never letting up, until my skittishness turned into sharpness, my clumsiness into cunning. It was a mean teacher, but I learned fast.
I imagined where it came from, maybe from an adventurer trainer or some tough-as-nails big boss, meant to whip soft recruits into hard fighters. Never meant for goblin-kind, but now it was mine. The cube made me strong, quick, smart; as long as I kept it close. And I ain’t givin’ it up for nothin’.
Danger Cube
Wondrous Item, Rare (Requires Attunement)
As part of a long rest, you can train with the illusory creature contained within. Each time you finish 7 long rests, you can roll once on the following table to activate an effect:
| d6 | Effect |
| 1 | You have a +1 bonus to attack rolls. |
| 2 | You have a +1 bonus to damage rolls. |
| 3 | You have a +1 bonus to ability checks. |
| 4 | You have a +1 bonus to saving throws. |
| 5 | You have a +1 bonus to your saving throw DCs. |
| 6 | You have a +1 bonus to AC. |
Up to 3 of the above effects can be activated at a time. Reroll any duplicates. If you already have 3 activated effects and roll a different one, you can choose one of the activated effects to replace with the rolled one or ignore the roll. Activated effects become inactive when attunement ends.
Check out last week’s item: the cowl of cthulhu.
