"May the peace of Oriane be with you, my lord. I am Byron, the resident Deacon here." His voice was a little dry, laced with exhaustion. "My apologies for the scene. There has been... some conflict here."
Murphy inclined his head slightly in return. "Deacon, what has happened here?"
Deacon Byron hesitated for a moment, but considering that a man of Murphy's status was inquiring personally, he finally grit his teeth and said:
"Last year's autumn harvest was poor, and this year's spring planting was met with drought. Many of the farming families in the domain have long since run out of their grain stores. By longstanding custom, the church would use its reserves from the annual 'tithe' and the famine-relief grain from charitable donations to aid the parishioners most in need during the hardest times, helping them hold out until the summer harvest. This has always been a common practice for the church, and it has had the tacit approval of previous Barons."
