And so, I arrive.  Another 'mighty warrior' seeking to prevail in the walk.  More like a vagabond scraping by.  I may not be here for the gold- I've made it this far without it, after all- but I'm certainly not going to say no once I win.<br/><br/>The days of revelry zip by.  A good way to inflate egos, lower guards, and foster hubris.  I can't say I'm immune, but for the best time I've had in my life to date?  I'm not about to complain.  A whirlwind and too few hours of sleep later, I'm on my way to take The Walk.  As the flowers rain down, I stop to catch one, and consider letting it adorn my hair, yet that won't help; no, it will only serve as a beacon, a hindrance should I try to hide.  I let it fall to the ground, crushing its vibrant golden petals under my feet as I advance.<br/><br/>I study the other competitors briefly, but I know it won't help.  Still, it seems the barbarians and the knight are missing the point.  We're here to live, not kill; all we need to do is get through alive, not kill everything in our paths.  But no matter.  Their fate is not my concern.<br/><br/>I wait my turn, and enter, solemn, silent.  No turning back now.  Pangs of doubt creep up my chest, but I beat them down, force myself to be confident.  I will succeed.  I<em>must</em>.<br/><br/><em>The cold air feels nice.</em><br/><br/>What a strange thought.  Yet it's true.  It was so hot above, the sun bearing down, the crowds pressing down.  The cold silence of the cave seems so inviting, so calming.<br/><br/>And then, something moves.  I brandish my sword, only to realize it's just a rat.  Or a bug... or something.  It's hard to tell.  And there are a lot of them... I have to focus.  Can't get distracted.  I go onward, wary of anything more dangerous that may be moving down here.  Then again, those spiders could be dangerous, too.  Imagine.  Coming all this way to the world's most dangerous dungeon only to die of a spider bite.<br/><br/>"What's this?" I say aloud as I come across the boxes.  Interesting.  I hadn't been told of boxes.  It could be a trap... but one so obvious?  It could be something useful.  Something that can keep me alive.  Perhaps they mix the boons and the traps to confuse the champions?  I<em>could</em>use every edge I can get, but if it's a trap... No, there are more contestants coming behind me.  If this were a trap, and it took me out, my body would be here to warn<em>them</em>, and that would make it a bad trap.  Decisions, decisions.<br/><br/>In the end, driven more by curiosity than logic, I open the box, praying I won't regret it.<br/><br/>Skill: 10<br/>Stamina: 22<br/>Luck: 12<br/><br/>Decision: I open the box.