Took a risk, and perished rounding Cape (5)
I believe the answer is:
diced
'took a risk' is the definition.
'perished rounding cape' is the wordplay.
'perished' becomes 'died' ('die' can be a synonym of 'perish').
'rounding' indicates putting letters inside.
'cape' becomes 'c' (abbreviation used on maps).
'died' enclosing 'c' is 'DICED'.
'and' is the link.
(Other definitions for diced that I've seen before include "Cubed" , "Gambled or cut into cubes" , "Chopped; gambled" , "getting the chop!" , "Cut into small squares" .)