Shane opened his inventory and inspected the ugly hand accessory. He didn't have high hopes for it, but his left hand was missing a wearable ring, so he figured anything would be better than nothing.

-Wealthy Iron Ring of Shade-

(Rare Ring)

+20 HP

+5 Mana

+1 Intellect

-Modifiers-

Wealthy: Whenever the user gains currency, there is a 50% chance for it to be doubled

Shade: The darker the shadows, the more invisible the user becomes, up to 50% invisible

-No Feats or Spells Gained-

Shane lost himself in thought. It's a good ring. I like the extra health and intellect, and while the modifiers don't synergize, they seem helpful in and of themselves. He equipped the accessory from within the inventory menu, and it immediately appeared on his finger.

The iron it was made of was heavily warped. Some parts of the ring were thinner on the bottom and heavier on top—to the point where Shane was worried it might break around his finger. Flexing his hand a few times while making a fist helped his worry dissipate when there was no inclination of breaking.

Still, it really was an ugly ring. Some of the interwoven, uneven iron bands reflected different shades of light—as if they were burnt. Shane took a few steps around the corner of the boxy hut into its shadow cast by the afternoon sun. While ugly, even he had to admit turning translucent in any kind of shadow would be more than handy for future stealth opportunities.

He raised his hand bearing the new ring to the sky—it wasn't much, but he could just make out the trees through the slight translucency of his skin. Shane concentrated on the ring for a moment and was relieved to see the see-through of his skin disappear. Being half translucent most of the time could be problematic, he thought, feeling glad it was a togglable function.

Highly satisfied, Shane turned around the corner of the hut and made his way toward the front of Cain Prime's dwelling. It wasn't nearly as large as the one he and Liz had made weeks ago. Mine was already kinda small and cozy, to begin with, he thought. This dwelling, however, was reminiscent of the impressively small tiny homes in real life.

The inherent irony of referring to the real world outside of Endless Veil, which felt just as natural, was still not lost on him.

Shane and his skeletons faced the front door. He commanded Tank to open the door while he, Mage, and Rogue braced for another dwelling defender to attack. The front door was made of several misshapen wooden boards cobbled together with cracks large enough to fit a finger through. When Tank swung the door open, the wooden boards clattered in place as they hit the front of the house with the distinct sound of wood on wood. Shane's tanky skeleton raised the compact hardwood of his shield as it stood in the doorway.

They all waited for something to happen—to fly out and attack or engulf anyone who dared step inside the door of the great Cain Prime's dwelling.

Nothing happened. Not a single thing came flying out. Shane couldn't see much beyond a single, empty room from behind Tank. After a new command, Tank, followed by Mage and Rogue, slowly crept into the closed, boxy space. Shane slowly followed his skeleton crew inside.

He immediately noticed how cold the room was, to the point where his exhaled breath came out in a cloud of visible vapor. To the right, where he stood in the doorway, was a window that let in some natural light within the startlingly dark space—a realization he only made after entering. The tightly packed wooden wall and floorboards were thankfully more stable than the front door as Shane tested the heel of his boot on one of them.

In the middle of the empty hut was a single round support beam about one foot across that extended to the top of the roof's angled portion. Thick metal rings looked to be tightly placed every couple of feet or so upon the beam itself. Still, nothing in the room explained the temperature or general dimming of the light. Worried, Shane tried sensing for a possible hidden opponent.

It was all clear, at least, until he looked underneath his boots.