Vol said that half because he didn't understand why people had begun to follow him in the first place. Of course, he saw their stats in the System, and he saw the increase of their loyalty bit by bit. But even with that, he didn't think the System had a direct effect on how people acted, at least initially – it didn't force people into service. They did it of their own violation.
He wanted to know just what people were beginning to see in him. It was always strange to see how another person saw him, especially if they seemed to acknowledge him far more highly than he would have expected himself.
With Vol being so forceful, and Northy being the kind of free-wheeling man that he presented himself as being, Vol had assumed the man would show at least a little bit of restraint, some second-hand consideration.
