Eleanor Daystar decides to visit the Temple of Heironeous across the way from the Lion’s Paw Inn, where the party is staying. There, she meets Father Augustin, head of the church in Talynbourg. She offers her services tending to the sick, creating holy water, etc. in hopes of gaining some insight into the situation in the country, and perhaps access to the church’s library, as well.

The Results:

There are not a whole lot of soldiers in the infirmary, in fact things seem rather quiet around here. There are a couple city guards with minor injuries from sparring practice or breaking up fights down in the adventurer’s district, but other than that, it’s mostly the sorts of injuries that would be common in rural and village life.

While working in the infirmary, you discuss the basics of Cydonic Heironism with Father Augustin and the handful of deacons and acolytes who work in the chapel.

You discover the following:

The Church of Heironeous

• The head of the Heironian Church in Cydon is Archbishop Percunis who leads the great Cathedral at Dragonfall, but the head of the church itself is the Holy Father Summanus who is based out of the Heironian Basilica in Panthium.
• The relationship between the archbishop of Cydon and the King is strongly intertwined as the right to rule in Cydon is derived from the favor of Heironeous.
• The Heironian Church does have a militant order, known as the Shining Blades. In Cydon, many Shining Blades hold important posts within the Army and Royal Guard.

Current Events:

Augustin confirms several of the rumors you have heard. The King, Lytanias was murdered last winter and that around that time, reports began to surface of a blight spreading through the land. His eldest son, Tornas, who was the head of the Army has assumed the throne as per custom. The Cydonic borders were left closed to allow the kingdom to focus on the mourning process. They have recently reopened under increased security and foreign traffic is being strictly regulated. Your encounters with Father Augustin leave you a little suspicious of the cleric. He is friendly and polite to a fault, which could either be Heironian morals or he could be hiding something. (I leave it up to you to decide if you will tell him about your travels)

For helping create holy water and tend to the sick, he agrees to allow access to the library.

Info on the Cydonic Military:

In the library, you find a couple of journals written by Heironean Clerics who have served in the military. You discover that overall, the military is divided into two main branches; the army, and the royal guard. The army is the larger branch tasked with protecting the country’s borders, while the guard is smaller, but generally better trained and tasked with protecting Dragonfall, the King and his family. The basic military unit in Cydon consists of a platoon of 10 to 20 soldiers (fighters and warriors), lead by a sergeant (fighter or paladin) The commanding officer is supported by a cleric corporal and each platoon usually also has a bard standard bearer.

Info on Current Events & the Blight:

You discover some information that seems to corroborate Augustins accounts of recent events. King Lytanias was murdered last winter. You also discover accounts of the blight. Most of this information confirms your previous research. There are instructions discussing how to recognize symptoms of the blight, preventative buffers (sashes etc.) and means of treatment. There are also some letters indicating that the King’s younger son, Steponas has disappeared, and that he is the one who killed the King. The letters urge all church and civic officials to tighten security, because, while the King’s older son, Tornas, has assumed the throne as is his birthright, there are supporters of Steponas scattered throughout the country.