A couple of days after the terms are signed, the Chelish army in Nirvana gets the same announcement from Taver. They're given a few hours to consider and then two Gates will go up, at clearly marked opposite ends of the enclosure. One goes straight to one of the Hell evacuation zones; this isn't ideal but Aroden is hoping it'll reduce the incidence of troops loyal to Asmodeus coming back and then trying to stage rebellions or something. The other Gate goes to Egorian, which of course has its own regularly scheduled transport to the Hell pickups, and Taver strongly encourages people to go to Egorian so they can have more time to think, even if they're still considering Asmodeus' offer. 

Asmodeus is almost definitely going to consider that disloyalty, though. 

Most of the soldiers go to Hell. 

This is pretty unsurprising. Aroden doesn't like it, he would preferred to have offered them more plausible deniability, not made the choice to think about it in itself visible disloyalty, but - he needed to avoid an organized resistance that would kill more innocent people, and make it harder to transition to a stable rule that the civilian population is happy with, more. At this point he thinks a large scale resistance is unlikely, and Taver's countryside tours and Teleport-hops around can catch smaller underground resistance movements before they gain too much momentum.

He dispatches Leareth back to Osirion to talk to the pharaoh about replacing Cheliax's currency, and about setting up temples to Abadar. Even if he does go for the Starstone, which he probably will given the low casualty numbers, he's going to wait a while and it'll be good to have established temples in the meantime. And - well, it was a disaster when he died and suddenly none of the cities in Cheliax had clean water. He should diversify. He also makes it known that any other church (to a Good or Neutral god) that wants to open a temple in Cheliax should coordinate with his temporary administration, and will probably be approved to do so. 

And now for the part that he's not exactly looking forward to. 

Aroden goes back to his personal demiplane, it's where he feels safest and he thinks it should still work from there. He sheds Alter Self like someone else's skin. 

He prays. To Iomedae. It's not a mental motion he's done in a very long time - or ever, in this body - but they clearly need to talk, She's probably been waiting and he wants Her to know that now he's ready. 

And there's a sensation like falling headfirst into rushing water and then - landing, and sitting across from a sharp-eyed Chelish woman of forty. The formerly human gods are better at this sort of thing. 

Her eyes are glittering. 

"Is there," she says, "something I could have done, such that you would have told me."

He ducks his head. "Perhaps. But - I am not thinking of an example, even now–" He cuts off. Shakes his head, smiles sadly. "Choosing Leareth as a cleric demonstrably worked for Abadar, but I think he is not your type. And, how could you have known to do it at all, when you were not aware I was alive. A circular problem."  

"And, while I would not have complained about you telling me a week ago, it's not the thing - the thing I should never have allowed to happen, even if neither of us can think how I could have prevented it. I would have wanted to know a hundred years ago, Aroden, so we could figure out the fastest route here."

"I know. And - I am very sorry. I never thought it was you, not really, how could I. I was so desperate for your help - for anyone's help. But, I was so scared." Here in this place that isn't a place, in his human body that isn't his real body, there can be tears in his eyes. "I did not understand what had happened, how it had happened... I was so weak, it would have taken a mere flicker of thought for a god to eradicate me from the world. Maybe forever, once they knew my immortality method had survived my time as a god. I was very scared, and - perhaps I was a coward, I think in my place you would have been braver - but, it is what I did. I am so, so sorry that it took me so long." 

- she's going to cross the imaginary distance and hug him, here, where this is a metaphor she is sustaining for the sake of his mind anyway. 

"I would've been braver. But I wouldn't have been in your place, I would've been dead, because I do not have so many backup immortality plans that one of them would survive dying as a god. Only you -"

He leans on the metaphor that is her shoulder. Lets himself weep, a little, because even eight-thousand-year-old humans who used to be gods can hurt, and can need the comfort of a friend. 

"I missed you so very much. I hope you will forgive me - that we can work together now, as we did before." 

"Are you still planning to fix everything."

"Of course. I do not think I could be myself and ever stop. Though - I feel much older now, and at this moment very tired, and it is an even more daunting task than I realized. I am not sure how long it will take. I hope you will make sure I do not resign myself to slowing down."

Sigh. "I think I will go for the Starstone, though. Not immediately, but quite soon. I wish I could take a year, or ten, just to - be human - but I do not have much more time left in this body, and - I would not have all the suffering people in the world wait just because I am weary." 

"There is a year or ten of work to be done in Cheliax that will be harder, as a god."

"There is an ally who I would trust with it, as thoroughly as I trust myself. It may still not be this year, that I go, if it proves thorny in Cheliax, but I do not intend to leave them governed by one insufficient to the task." 

She pulls back from the hug. "I will have you know it is actively a lot of work not to read everything in your mind when we are doing this."

"Oh, I was assuming that you were reading everything in my mind and my willingness to speak with you accepted that as a precondition. I should tell you this part anyway, I think, Abadar is aware and it is strategically relevant. Nethys also knows but only in the sense that He knows everything in all the worlds." He takes a metaphor-deep breath. "Leareth is - myself. From another world, another history, but a remarkably similar one, though his tale is at the point before where I became a god in mine. I had many levels of contingency-plans to win the war by an overdetermined margin even without his help, of course, but I did not even need to touch most of them, thanks to his aid. Anyway, he does not rule a country in his world and his local gods dislike him - I think even our gods find them impossible to work with, Abadar at least. I do not think he would mind moving here to inherit my realm, though I have yet to pose him the question directly." 

"It's a lot less frustrating to read you but I really want to be someone you'll talk to! 

- and that - makes sense of the bits of the war that I think everyone was most taken aback by. I - wish he were Chelish, I think it matters, but probably less than it matters to actually be competent and trying.

My country, Aroden, my people - there were so many children, who understood, who would've done so much for the world, and it would kill them, if I chose them, and maybe it would have been better anyway."

"I know, Iomedae. I know. I watched it happen from across the sea, and I knew what it meant - every piece of it." Sigh. "If there is someone else who is competent and trying, I will consider them too, but - I cannot justify staying human another few decades just for that, and I doubt that Asmodeus will have left me much to work with in the shorter run." 

"I've picked a few. But - not anyone ready to run a country next year, no. It's going to take such a terribly long time, to fix." She bites her tongue. "I'm glad you're impatient. I don't know if it's right but I think it's good for you. It'd be - looking backwards - to stay there as long as they needed you - and there's so much to look forward to! I want to tell you all about it. I mostly can't, now. But someday soon."

"Someday soon," he agrees. "I am so pleased to speak with you again." Pause. "Do you wish to have temples in Cheliax? The offer is open to all - well, all non Evil gods - but your church in particular I would welcome." 

"Yes, definitely. Lastwall can't lend you much in the way of military force because there's trouble in Ustalav, but we should have temples. I can use the existing ones, though they'll need some redecorating." 

"Of course." He smiles, tiredly. "Is there anything else we ought speak of, now?" 

"I think not, if we're going to speak properly again soon. - Milani."

"Yes. I know. I ought speak to Her as well, I think, but - I am looking forward to it less than I was to our conversation. Oh, also, before I forget - thank you for invading Hell. It bought us a great deal, I think." 

She nods. "A day's notice would've been very useful, for that."