ToME: the Tales of Maj'Eyal

I've reached the fortress, inserted my rod of recall into the orb and spoken to the butler.

Is there anyway I'll be able to get back to the fortress without going through the Old Forest and the Lake of Nur? Perhaps with my rod of recall? This comment suggests that "if you get to Sher-tul fortress early-ish and upgrade your wand of travel, you will be able to access it from anywhere, making it a perfect stash location" but I'm unsure whether "wand of travel" is the same thing as rod of recall.

I'd experiment only there's a level 35 elite radiant horror on the floor above the fortress who'll no doubt rape me next time I go through, so if there's anything else I have to do to activate direct access I'd like to do it now before I leave.

You should be able to exit the fortress through a portal that should appear in the upper alcove left of the butler (the hallway you walked in). This will dump you out on a portal on the world map near the Old Forest entrance, which also allows entrance back into the fortress.

You need to transmute a bunch of items to gain 15 energy in the fortress. I think you get 1 energy per 10 gold-value transmuted, so it would take ~150 gold worth of items. Then you'll get a popup message saying you've unlocked a new ability with your rod of recall. At that point, go talk to the butler in the fortress again and he will offer to upgrade your rod of recall. Transmuting unneeded gems in your inventory is an easy way to get the needed energy.

I would say it's definitely worth doing because it lets you get back to the fortress from anywhere, even the East. When you recall you'll be taken to the fortress instead of the world map. Leaving the fortress will bring you to the world map at the location you recalled from.

Fantastic, thank you.