After the dance, Marcus asks an old man of the tribe, the Chieftain's father, to tell him about the Eagle. The old warrior tells how they hunted down the remnants of the Ninth Legion, whom he calls the Red Crests because of their headgear. The Red Crests fought bravely, but they were hopelessly outnumbered. The old man himself brought down the man who held the Eagle. Before the Eagle could fall to the ground, the Cohort Commander, Marcus's father, caught it. He was soon killed by another warrior, and the Eagle was captured.
The old warrior remarks on Marcus's resemblance to the Cohort Commander, but Marcus makes an excuse for it. The old man shows Marcus a ring he took from the Legion commander. Marcus recognizes his father's signet ring......
