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Having completed his father's goals, Balthasar began his reign in earnest. His primary mission as the newly-crowned King of New England was to stabilise the realm. He had the title of King, and the land and power to back it up, but in the eyes of most he still ruled little more than a loosely-arranged coalition of tribes. Balthasar had two strategies to change this state of affairs.
First, to pass a series of laws codifying the relationships between the King and the High Chiefs.
Second, to form healthy relationships with the other nearby realms.
To accomplish this, Balthasar bought the most impressive merchant ship in Boston Harbor.
Though not without help, of course. Bringing his Occultist Adepts to spread the word of Dagon would do as much in the eyes of the peasants as the diplomatic trip would do in the eyes of the nobility.
But while good impressions are important, so too is showing strength. Refusing to buckle to the demands of a local trade conglomerate was necessary, lest New England find itself expected to kowtow to foreign powers for generations to come.
The Duke of Home was an impressive man, deserving of an equally impressive gift. Twelve strong warriors of Dagon walked forth with King Balthasar as a show of the new kingdom's power and prestige. When they knelt at Nelligan's feet and offered him their loyalty, the man was suitably impressed.
Less impressive: Steward Obed's table manners. Thinking quickly, Balthasar blew it off as a quirk of an uncivilized aide, then slipped Obed a pouch of gold to soften the blow to his ego.
Likewise dangerous was an adept who overstepped his mission and was found attempting to convert a noble of Nelligan's court. Once again, Balthasar's quick tongue salvaged a potentially disastrous scenario.
In the end, though, the trip was fruitful both diplomatically and financially.
Back home, Balthasar continued to work toward centralizing power. With minimal struggle, he gathered all of the Duchy of Boston into his personal demesne.
And with that done, he began the work of beautifying said demesne.
As with his mercantile journey, he spared no expense.
By the end of the whole affair, Balthasar developed rather a fondness for gardening, and his reputation for the dignified and complex undertaking further improved his standing among the lords of the realm.
Sadly, he wouldn't be afforded peace much longer. Consumerists, remnants of Maritime rule over the north of New England, rose up against their Occultist king.
They didn't last long.
But the Consumerists weren't the only one who wanted to test the new king.
Even before the first adventurer had arrived on New England's shores, a second declared his attempt to follow suit.
What this says about the first host's expected chances can be left to the imagination, but the point remains that Balthasar had a lot of war to look forward to.
Fortunately, his years of improvement had not gone unnoticed, and the people of New England rallied to support him.
With their help, the host of Paul the Hunter was defeated in short order.
Balthasar found himself distracted from matters of state, however, by a bit of a personal crisis. He turned to an ally from outside the kingdom to help: Duke Nelligan of Home.
While he awaited his response, he received rather alarming news about the state of his kingdom, as well...
It seemed his brother-in-law, an until-now minor count in the far north, had inherited the entire duchy of Maine. And while he and Balthasar were on good terms, he had no intention of giving up his independence to a king.
Without a claim on the duchy, Balthasar found himself at a loss. For now, he'd simply need to bide his time and hope to rejoin the lands by marriage when their children came of age. This meant keeping up their relations and helping him in his wars. (like one I got called into but forgot to screenshot... oops)
More pressing was the letter from Nelligan. He'd invite the blackmailer to his court and make her disappear... for a price. Balthasar, distracted by matters at home and simply wanting to get rid of the problem, gladly obliged.
Balthasar's armies were in the north to aid Duke Pier when the second adventurer launched his fleet.
His men had just moved back south to meet the fleet in New England when another missive arrived at his court.
After years to recover, the Maritimes had decided to take the fight back to the New Englanders.
And so Balthasar Miskaton learned the hard way that choosing not to start wars doesn't mean you can choose not to fight them.
Next time: Fighting Them