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There was nothing here for you to do or for you to gain; you might have recruited some more demons or struck a few deals with their kind, but you were, in truth, bored with their kind. As a dark lord, order and control were your main values, and the chaos and unpredictability of demons did not align with your goals. The dark realm, once re-established, would only have but a scant use for such creatures; you preferred men as subjects to demons.
Thus, you decide to trek back to the border forts of the order, though you would first need to trek through the wastes of the valley.
This journey wasn't as hard as it had been in the beginning; you had been acclimated, and through your powers, so had the men under your command. The elf, who had been among demon society, didn't suffer from the blight that festers in these lands as much as they had when you first entered these lands.
Still, in the two weeks that it took to march from the city to the border, there were some annoyances; demons were scattered all over the wastes, most of them still under the effect of the fear spell you had cast upon them. The terrain and climate, not the inhabitants, were your main opponents in these parts, though that would change as you would reach the border.
Reality would grow stronger as you left the wastes behind, but with your new body as a container for your essence, you wouldn't fade out of existence as easily as before. You are yet in secrecy, and the power of the west has not been mustered, which gives you freedom of action for as long as you aren't discovered or reveal yourself.
Ironically enough, it was a lot easier to get out than it was to get in. Because you didn't come in screaming, flying and weapons abrasing, and because these border guards deduced that you were mortals, not demons, they more or less let you past with but a token few inspections.
The land would grow green once more, and you would smell air untainted with the fumes of sulphur and ash. A pleasant change of tone, even for one such as yourself.
Still, with you out and probably a persona non grata in the demon valley, you shouldn't turn back. But there are things in the wider world that you should take care of; if you counted them off the top of your head, it would be things like checking up on the operations of the snake cult, gauging the strength of the wider kingdoms of men, elves, dwarves, and other creatures, and perhaps gaining ears and eyes in the wider world.
There is much to do, much to be wrought, but unfortunately, you weren't back at your full power, nor could you be in two places at the same time.
>We should head back into the desert to more closely manage the cult.
>I must gauge their strength and see what they are capable of; we shall head west.
>I must gauge their strength and see what they are capable of; we shall head east.
>I should depart the warband for the time being, assume a new visage and gain sources elsewhere.
