Nyroth Update 7: Emain Ablach

Previous Update: Daeyux
== Emain Ablach ==
by Montesque64
This is from the second round of island explorations.
With their dominion over Avalon firmly established, the Bilgewater 
Captains’ Council directed its attention to the nearby island of Emain 
Ablach. Since its founding, Bilgewater’s nautical bent had been both a 
blessing and a curse. A blessing for its unrivaled fleets, both military
 and mercantile, a curse for the difficulty the city had always had in 
pursuing non-naval endeavors.
Most particularly, Bilgewater hoped that the scrawlings of the 
Nyrothian indicated that Emain Ablach would hold the key to remedying 
Bilgewater’s reliance on food imports from other nations. While the 
sailors and pirates of Bilgewater had fish aplenty, other dishes had to 
be shipped from the nations of the mainland, giving those nations a hold
 over the free-spirited sailors which was becoming intolerable.
As was swiftly becoming the norm, however, the initial reports of 
scouts revealed a situation rather different from what they had been led
 to expect. The island was filled to bursting with thick jungle, 
vegetation spilling out even over the shoreline into groves of mangrove 
trees which rose from the salty sea surrounding the island.
A scouting crew penetrated the mangrove forest, hoping to find some 
sign of the arable land indicated by the Nyrothian’s information. 
Instead, they found large, hostile, mobile plants which stalked them 
through the thick, seemingly endless jungle. These “chlorofiends” as the
 Bilgewaterns dubbed them, took a heavy toll upon the expedition, 
killing approximately a quarter of their number, and leaving the 
majority of the rest with injuries of various severity, many of which 
soon began to show signs of infection in the dank jungle climate.
The expedition reluctantly decided to return to their boats, 
intending to report the island as a loss except perhaps as a source of 
new wood for ships. However, on the final day before they turned back, a
 human-looking being approached them silently out of the verdant 
shadows, motioning for them to follow.
The primitive man led them along hidden pathways to a fortified 
village which seemed to be grown as much as constructed from the jungle 
around it. There, with the aid of the translation magics they had 
acquired for the expedition, the sailors learned that a number of small 
Nyrothian tribes had enclaves throughout the island. These tribes had 
only the most primitive of technology in most regards, and had no hidden
 farms. Disappointed, the Bilgewater expedition became interested in the
 natives only after the tribe’s shaman applied a poultice made from a 
strange plant native to the island to the wounds of some of the most 
badly infected wounds of their number. The wounds showed a miraculously 
swift and thorough recovery, and men who had been scarcely able to walk 
an hour before were soon reinvigorated and dancing merry jigs in 
celebration of their renewed lease on life, claiming that they felt 
better than they had in years, perhaps better than they ever had.
Covert experimentation revealed that, by itself, the plant used by 
the shaman did little. It was quickly determined that the island’s 
natives must know some subtle magic or treatment whereby the plant’s 
healing power could be unlocked.
=== Conclusion ===
The captains’ council of Bilgewater heard petitions from both Zyra 
and Maokai.  The Twisted Treant proposed that the magical core on Emain 
Ablach be adjusted in such a way that the twisted plant beasts, or 
chlorofiends as the sailors had taken to calling them, would be unable 
to survive, whilst simultaneously further enhancing the growth and 
prosperity of the normal (that is to say, immobile) plants which covered
 the island.  Zyra’s proposal was, essentially, the opposite.  She urged
 the pirate council to adjust the core to enhance the chlorofiends at 
the expense of the island’s plants, allowing Bilgewater to control the 
creatures and utilize them as an army.
While Zyra’s plan did appeal to their baser natures, the captains 
eventually decided that it might be wise, at least for the time being, 
to cultivate a less aggressive reputation.  Additionally, following 
Maokai’s plan would allow Bilgewater, for the first time in its history,
 to become self sufficient in regards to agriculture, and reduce its 
dependence on foreign imports of grain.
Each captain knew that information was always the strongest ally, and
 so the council dispatched Twisted Fate to watch the natives of Emain 
Ablach, hoping for a better understanding of the island’s plant life. 
 The Card Master considered this an odd assignment, as his interest in 
and knowledge of herbalism was close to nonexistent.  Fortunately, his 
knowledge of stealth was much more comprehensive, and what information 
he was able to glean from observing the natives was safely returned to 
the captain’s council.
Nami, due to her magical skill, was assigned to readjust the core, 
escorted by an elite detachment of Bilgewater Marines, as well as 
Nautilus and Katarina, to protect her from roving chlorofiends. 
 Gangplank, meanwhile, under his own recognizance, led a force into the 
jungle of Emain Ablach to clear a patch of land for what he hoped would 
eventually become the breadbasket of Bilgewater.
The first expedition, led by Nami, ventured forth into the jungle. 
 The privateers of Bilgewater, supported by their champions’ skills, 
both martial and magical, were successful in fighting back the green 
monstrosities, soon reaching the center of the island and its magical 
core.  There, Nami began the ritual which would hopefully bend the 
island to Bilgewater’s will.
Nami had made an important discovery.  She had discovered that it was
 remarkably difficult to concentrate on a sensitive magical ritual with 
Nautilus fighting nearby.
As she shaped the currents of magic with dextrous fingers, she 
flinched slightly and nearly fumbled a flow as a massive, humanoid plant
 monster flew past the corner of her field of vision, the Titan of the 
Depths’ anchor wedged through its chest.  The creature impacted with a 
tree and exploded into debris.
In addition to his lumbering about, Katarina flickering in and out of
 sight was its own special sort of distraction.  What was bothering the 
Tidecaller the most, however, was that the ritual wasn’t working.
She was performing it exactly as Maokai had suggested, but it did not
 seem to be having any effect on the chlorofiends.  On top of that, as 
she had tried to explain to the captains council, plant magic was not 
exactly her specialty, and she was having great difficulty in modifying 
the magic’s parameters on the fly.  If only she could find something 
familiar in this…
Wait…what’s that? She froze the flow of magic currently 
streaming in front of her, examining it closely.  It was pulsing with 
life magic, as was everything on the island, but this seemed somehow 
familiar…
“It’s Kelp!” she shouted in excitement, causing Katarina’s head to 
whip around from watching the perimeter of the clearing which housed the
 core.
“What about kelp?” Shouted the Noxian assassin, rather exasperated.
“It’s kelp…er… A type of seaweed.  This magic…it’s splicing 
characteristics of kelp with the island’s plant life.  Kelp can grow up 
to two feet in a single day, but it’s also resistant to mutation.  This 
magic is making the kelp…I mean, the plants grow much faster than they 
ought to, but they’re not as resistant to mutation, so sometimes they 
produce…” She waved absently toward a massive plant creature which had 
crashed through the forest wall as Katarina leapt atop it and endeavored
 to saw its head off with her knives.
“Knowing that…” She ducked her head back towards her work, light 
flashing off of the silvery scales of her fingers.  Moments later, the 
chlorofiends slowed, then stopped, and finally collapsed into piles of 
mulch.
Nami spun with a bright smile, beaming at the pirates and champions who stared at her, nonplussed.  “Finished!”
Gangplank’s expedition set off slightly after Nami’s and attracted 
most of the plant creatures’ attention, due to their obviously 
unfriendly intentions for the Emain Ablach’s plant life, as evidenced by
 their abundant cutting tools.
Indeed, no sooner had they begun to clear a patch of ground for farm 
land than the jungle seemed to come alive around them, chlorofiends 
streaming from the greenery like an avenging tide.  The brave sailors of
 Bilgewater fought well, but they were out of their element, and slowly 
pressed back into the center of the small clearing they had created. 
 Even Gangplank was reduced to shouting orders from the center of the 
pack after a lucky blow from a plant creature shattered his leg as 
thoroughly as a ball from a cannon.
All hope seemed lost when the chlorofiends began to slow, and then 
collapse.  Nami had completed the ritual, and the remainder of the 
Bilgewater agricultural force was safe.
In the aftermath of their two successful expeditions, Bilgewater 
established an agricultural settlement upon Emain Ablach which, 
bolstered by the island’s magic, began to show dividends in a fraction 
of the time normal crops would have taken.  This bounty would obviously 
prove more than sufficient for Bilgewater’s needs, and so it was decided
 that, in honor of their assistance, the first crop in its entirety, as 
well as a tithe of all future crops, would be given freely to the 
inhabitants of Nyroth and Emain Ablach.  This generous gesture greatly 
improved Bilgewater’s relations with both groups, as well as earning 
great favor from the League of Legends itself.
Unfortunately, Gangplank was forced to withdraw himself from the 
conflict for a time, citing his wounded leg.  Though he was loath to 
admit it, the feared captain had also had opportunity to pick up a 
number of tricks of the farming trade during his illustrious career, 
mostly while posing as a farmer or orchard keeper for one con or 
another.  Oddly enough, this actually made him one of the most 
knowledgeable Bilgewater members in the agricultural sciences, and his 
leadership was invaluable in the the initial stages of the farming 
operations.
Finally, as promised, Maokai agreed to make his name available for 
petition to join Bilgewater’s forces, as the ritual, as modified by 
Nami, had inspired given him some insight into the problem of the Shadow
 Isles, and how it might be partially offset.
Next Update: The Automata