Author: theLogBook.com

Taking a break in a tavern, Xena is accosted by a man, Melas, who insists that her army destroyed his village and killed everyone including his young son. Xena tries to tell him that it wasn’t her, but he says that every village from here to Corinth has a story of Xena and her army’s latest attacks. Xena and Gabrielle decide to head to Corinth to find out what is going on. On their way to Corinth, they encounter refugees from a village who fear Xena. Among the refugees is a young man, Joxer, who claims to be a great warrior and wants to join Xena’s army. She tells him to get lost. Melas tries to ambush Xena, but is thwarted by the warrior. She ties him to a tree and tells him she’s going after the imposter and that he should stay out of her way.

Xena and Gabrielle arrive in a village as it is under attack. While on horseback, Xena throws her chakrum to stop some of the warriors in their attacks. A blonde woman warrior, also on horseback grabs it from the air. Soon the two women are exchanging blows, that eventually send them to the ground. Xena questions her, and the warrior mentions Cirra, a name that Xena recognizes. Her new enemy flips back onto her horse and rides off, still holding Xena’s chakrum. Nearby, Gabrielle is having trouble fighting off one of the warriors. He sends her to the ground, but Xena intercepts his sword before he can kill the bard. Using her pressure point knowledge, Xena interrogates the man about the woman who just left. Her name is Callisto and her family died in an attack on Cirra. She plans on killing the oracle at Delphi the next day at the Apollo sacrifice with Xena’s chakrum. After she releases him, Melas approaches. He heard everything and wants to join Xena in getting rid of Callisto. The warrior lets him join her and Gabrielle, only to keep him safe.

Callisto’s lieutenant, Theodorus, arrives back in the camp. He tells Callisto of Xena’s interrogation. The warrior is pleased. She believes she knows every move that Xena will make. Before she can discuss the next day’s plans, Joxer is brought to her. He had been sneaking around because he wants to join her army. Callisto says he can join her but he has to bring Gabrielle back to the camp. That evening, Gabrielle tries talking Melas into resting. But he won’t until Callisto is dead. The bard then moves to Xena and asks her about Cirra. The warrior explains that about ten years before her army attacked that village. During the raid a fire was started, but she wasn’t sure how. There were strong winds, and the village was quickly destroyed. Callisto was apparently one of the few survivors, and wants revenge against the person she blames for the death of her family.

Xena, Gabrielle, and Melas arrive the next morning in Delphi. They spread out to look for Callisto. As Gabrielle is searching through the village, Joxer grabs her in a net. She frees herself, and easily defeats the young man and goes to search for Xena. Xena is looking around the temple. The oracle has just been placed in her position at the altar, when the warrior hears the chakrum. She throws a dagger that intercepts the chakrum’s path, and deflects it back to her. Spotting Callisto, Xena darts off after her, out of the temple. The two race out of Delphi on horseback.

written by R.J. Stewart
directed by T.J. Scott
music by Joseph LoDuca

Guest Cast: Hudson Leick (Callisto), Ted Raimi (Joxer), David Te Rare (Theodorus), Ian Hughes (Melas), Kenneth McGregor (Aketeon), Patricia Donovan (Old Woman), Michael Hallows (Tall Villager), Toby Mills (Tall Man), Henry Vaeoso (Fat Warrior)

LogBook entry by Mary Terrell

As Xena is explaining to Gabrielle about how she is able to catch arrows, sometimes without seeing them, an archer fires upon them. To the surprise of the bard and the warrior, Gabrielle catches the arrow on the end of her staff before Xena can catch it. The assassin runs from his hiding place and attacks the warrior. While she is fighting him, another runs up behind Gabrielle and the bard has to defend herself. When Xena knocks her attacker out, she notices he is wearing a mask that she recognizes. The sound of the struggle between the bard and her attacker sends the warrior running to help. But Gabrielle doesn’t need it. Xena questions the man about the mask. It was given to him by the warlord, Cortese. His army is attacking a village nearby. Xena tells Gabrielle that Cortese’s army was the one that destroyed her village. It was in that same attack that her brother, Lyceus, died.

Xena rides into the village and attacks the raiders. When Gabrielle reaches the village, she sees that a young girl is about to be run over by one of the raiders on horseback. The bard manages to get the girl out of the way in time and hands her over to her mother. She then joins Xena in trying to stop the raiders. Suddenly one of the raiders calls out for a retreat. And the men dart out of the village just as the king’s army enters it. One of the men stops and watches Xena. He knows who she is, and goes to tell Malik, Cortese’s second in command. The raiders return to camp, and Malik reports to Cortese. The warlord interrupts when Malik tells of Xena’s appearance in the village. While Xena and Gabrielle are traveling through the forest, one of Cortese’s men appears. The warrior is suspicious of the man, and she approaches him carefully. She’s shocked when the man removes his mask and reveals that he is her long lost older brother, Toris. He explains that he joined the raiders to get to Cortese to kill him. Xena has Toris take her back to the raiders’ camp as his prisioner. She wants the chance to look around for herself. Malik is pleased that they have Xena, but he threatens Toris and sends him away. When Malik goes to see Xena, however, she knocks him out and escapes.

Toris paces by a lake while waiting for his sister to return. Gabrielle begins to tell him about how much she’s learned from Xena, but it just upsets him. He insists that Xena is treating her just like the people of Amphipolous when she created an army to defend against Cortese. Xena returns and tells them that she found the royal crest on pieces of paper and carrier pigeons. Thinking that someone in the castle must be a spy, she and Toris go there while Gabrielle returns to the village they saved earlier.

written by Peter Allan Fields
directed by Stewart Main
music by Joseph LoDuca

Guest Cast: Joseph Kell (Toris), Michael Lawrence (Cortese), William Davis (Malik), Doug McCaulay (Aescalus), Elizabeth Skeen (Sera), Peter Needham (Village Elder)

LogBook entry by Mary Terrell