John had met a few creatures that didn't like to look him in the eye. Most had a reason. The exorcist had a way of seeing things, but in people it could mean a lot of things. Ritchie had the nervous twitch of not doing that, plus he hated John (or said he did) after Newcastle.

"Erskine. Upon the knife."

A thoughtfulness was in his voice, dark eyes watching Erskine without emotion until eye-contact or near such was made. What made a man that way? Had he figured out that John used eye-contact to hypnotize others? Had it happen to him before? Habit of a spellcaster?

"You and a few others told me about the war. What happened with it? Locals don't seem to want to talk about it except to look at me suspiciously. Should warn A-Quiver that he might get some complaints about that. They expect you to obey property lines here and not go some places."

John didn't dive into what did Erskine did after the war right away. Curiosity and patience had to go hand-in-hand in this until he knew where he stood with the twitchy mage.