Year: 1996

The tyrant Xerxes is angry. A band of renegades keep attacking his army as they try to collect taxes. He demands that the villagers hand over the leader, the Black Wolf. Many people step forward claiming to be the Black Wolf and he has them all thrown in a dungeon. Xena arrives and learns that a friend of hers, Flora, was one of the people imprisoned. She tells Flora’s mother that she will help her daughter to escape. The warrior princess goes to Xerxes and offers to help him find the leader of the Black Wolf. All he needs to do is stage her arrest in front of sympathizers. Once inside his dungeon she will find out who the leader is and turn that person over to him. Once inside the prison, many of the renegades are wary of Xena. But Flora reassures them that Xena is her friend and will be their ally. Xena takes the younger woman aside and tells her she will help her escape. Flora won’t go without the others.

Gabrielle arrives in the village. She learns from the blacksmith about Xena being in the dungeon. She immediately tries to find a way to join her friend. While working out her plan, Gabrielle accidentally bumps into Salmoneous who is there selling Black Wolf merchandise. But when the bard executes her plan, the guards arrest Salmoneous instead of her. The head of Xerxes’ guard, Koulos, decides to threaten the prisoners in order to learn who the Black Wolf is. He puts Xena into a pit that fills with water. But the warrior easily escapes. When Salmoneous is thrown into the dungeon, she decides on a plan that will free all of the prisoners. Taking all the belts they can find, they hang them in the grating along the ceiling, and hide. When the guards realize the cell is empty, the rush in. The prisoners jump from their hiding places and make their escape. They make it out to the square and are confronted by Koulos and the rest of the guard. Seems Kouslos had someone on the inside who told him of the escape plan. The renegades are now very suspicious of Xena, especially Flora’s boyfriend, Diomedes. He fights with Xena. The warrior ends the fight saying she wasn’t the traitor. The next morning, Gabrielle finally manages to get arrested by dumping a bowl of gruel on one of the guards. Xena is upset to see her there, but she’s also surprised that Gabrielle managed to sneak her chakrum and whip into the dungeon. At Xena’s direction, Gabrielle and Salmoneous set a trap for Koulos’ spy. When he tries to deliver a message to the guards, Xena catches him. The guards place a staff in the ground inside the prison, saying that the renegades had until the sun reached the staff to hand over the Black Wolf.

written by Allan Jay Glueckman
directed by Mario DiLeo
music by Joseph LoDuca

Guest Cast: Robert Trebor (Salmoneous), Nigel Harbrow (Koulos), Ian Hughes (Diomedes), Ross Duncan (Parnassus), Maggie Tarver (Hermia), Emma Turner (Flora), Kevin J. Wilson (Xerxes), Jonathan Bell-Booth (Chief Guard), John Dybvig (Brigand), Colin Francis (The Grump), Tim Hosking (Blacksmith), Adam Middleton (Black Wolf Sympathizer), John Pemberton (Arresting Guard), Jimmy Rawdon (Father)

LogBook entry by Mary Terrell

Queen Helen has disturbing nightmares that show a man in shadows killing the soldiers trying to protect her. She sends her personal guard Miltides to find Xena. Before he can reach the warrior princess, he is attacked. Xena and Gabrielle are close by and fight off his attackers. But Miltides has been stabbed and he is dying. He barely manages to give Helen’s message to Xena in time. Xena and Gabrielle fight their way through the Greek forces and into Troy. They are greeted by Gabrielle’s ex-fiance’ Perdicas. The warrior leaves the two friends to find Helen. The queen tells her that she wants Xena to take her to Menelaus, hoping that will end the war. But Xena doesn’t agree. She tells Helen that Paris would just come after her. Deophobus, Paris’ brother, is upset that Xena managed to get in to see the queen. He insists that the warrior princess be taken to see Paris. As Xena is trying to convince Paris that she is there to help, one of Deophobus’ personal guards appears. He was one of the men who attacked Miltides. He has a scar on his face where Xena cut him with her sword. She fights him again briefly, before Deophobus stabs him. Paris then accepts Xena’s offer. The warrior returns to Gabrielle and tells her why Helen asked to see her. She tells her to stay with Perdicas while she checks things out. She then spots Helen trying to sneak out of the city. As they are talking, Xena notices Deophobus exiting the city through a secret doorway. She follows him to the Greek army’s camp and watches as he talks to Menelaus.

Xena returns to the castle to tell Paris and Helen about what she saw. But Deophobus shows up and tells them that he and Menelaus were discussing the Greek army’s surrender. He convinces his brother that Xena cannot be trusted, and the king has her thrown into prison. Before leaving, the Greeks left a large wooden horse outside the gates. The Trojans bring it into the city and begin their celebrations.

written by Adam Armus and Nora Kay Foster
directed by Roy Thomas and Janis Hendler
music by Joseph LoDuca

Guest Cast: Gayln Gorg (Helen), Scott Garrison (Perdicas), Ken Blackburn (Menelaus), Warren Carl (Paris), Cameron Rhodes (Deophobus), Adrian Keeling (Miltiades), Peter Ford (Trojan Soldier #2), Matthew Jeffs (Trojan Soldier #1), Geoffrey Knight (Trojan Guard), John Manning (Greek Scout), Aidan MacBride Stewart (Greek Soldier)

LogBook entry by Mary Terrell

After telling stories in a tavern, Gabrielle meets a young man who tells her about a bard competition. The top four finishers in the competition will be accepted into the Athens City Academy For Performing Bards. The young man’s father tells Gabrielle that the competition isn’t for girls. Xena enters the tavern and informs her young friend about the people of Caramis having trouble with a cyclops. She’s surprised when Gabrielle wants to go to Athens. When the bard explains, the warrior offers her encouragement and leaves for Caramis. In Athens, Gabrielle runs into the young man she met at the tavern. He’s happy to see that she made it in time. Gabrielle introduces herself. But he hates his name and wants to be called Draco. But his new friend tells him about Xena fighting Draco. She thinks he should call himself Orion. At the first gathering of the competitors, a man suddenly runs forward and stabs the instructor, before leaping out a window. But the teacher isn’t dead. He had staged the attack as part of his lesson. But Gabrielle has ideas of her own about lessons and tells the story of Celesta’s capture by Sisyphus. The next day Gabrielle is giving pointers to Orion when one of the officials interrupts. They’ve discovered, with help from Orion’s father, that the young woman snuck into the competition and she is told to leave. Her new friends are unhappy about her having to go. Twickenam has an idea and tells the others about it. They ask Gabrielle to stay until the next day’s competition. To her surprise and that of the officials, the others refuse to compete unless she is allowed to stay. The great bard Gastacius is there for the judging and he wants to hear her tell a story. After her story, he insists that she remain in the competition.

Later when Orion has finished telling a story, his father appears backstage. He is disappointed in his son’s performance and demands that he start the story again for him. Orion becomes and angry and leaves. His father blames Gabrielle for his departure. She sets off to find her new friend to convince him to return.

written by R.J. Stewart and Steven L. Sears
directed by Jace Alexander
music by Joseph LoDuca

Guest Cast: Dean O’Gorman (Orion), Patrick Brunton (Stallonus), Alan De Malmanche (Docenius), Lori Dungey (Kellos), Joseph Manning (Euripedes), Grahame Moore (Polonius), Andrew Thurtell (Twickenham), David Weatherley (Gastacius), Bernard Moody (Drunk)

LogBook entry by Mary Terrell