Sera (Elizabeth Skeen) to summon the village elder (Peter Needham). Meanwhile Toris, angry that he and Xena failed to kill Cortese when they had the chance, heads off into the woods alone. When Xena goes after him, he finally admits that he left their village when it was under siege years before not out of principle, as he has always insisted, but out of fear for his own survival. He confesses that when he found out their brother Lyceus died in that battle, his life meant nothing to him anymore and he decided the only thing left to do was to kill Cortese. Increasingly worried about Toris and eager to protect the villagers from the