April's Lone Delver

This lone delver is in a lot of trouble. The illustration is by Peter Laird and is from the Flying Buffalo solo Arena of Khazan by Ken St. Andre. Arena of Khazan, as the name suggests, involves characters fighting as gladiators for the amusement of the citizens of Khazan and it's ruler Lerotra'hh, the Death Goddess. Characters might end up as gladiators in the arena as punishment for crimes they did or did not commit or they may simply be there to make some money. Either way, you must fight three battles against whatever the arena masters choose to throw at you before you can leave with your freedom and winnings. This can result in some pretty outrageous battles and some of the best "Oh sh*!" illustrations from a T&T solo, like the one above where a gladiator has been paired up with a Balrog. You only see the back side of the warrior, but I'm pretty sure I can imagine what his expression looks like at that moment. No one said it was going to be easy.