Hello again, dear friends. I hope you are all doing well.

This is the second half of "An Inevitable Encounter". We'll be jumping back in right where we left off. Expect a healthy amount of dialogue between our adventurers, a first look at the monastery locals, and a little bit of timey-wimey.

With that, please enjoy the fourth chapter of Case Study: Fodlan.

Byleth turned around. The forest had evaporated as if it were never there. She was in that dark, green throne room once again. Was she dreaming? Was she dead?

"Neither, if you must ask such ridiculous questions. Imagine that I would let you die from such an inconsequential encounter. The nerve!"

Looking up, Byleth saw the young girl from her dreams looking at her angrily, her lip curled into a tight pout. "How odd… look at your face! Do you think of me as a mere child? Phooey! I'll let you know that this 'child' just saved your life! And so what does that make you?"

Byleth paused briefly. "That makes me Byleth."

The young girl blinked. That was not the response that she was expecting. She cleared her throat and smoothed out her dress. "Well, I am the beginning, or better known to your ilk as Sothis…"

Sothis' face went blank before twisting in confusion. "... I am not sure why, but that only came to me just now. I swear I had no memory of my name before..."

Byleth tilted her head to the side. "Am I dead?"

"Did you not hear me? Of course not!" Sothis puffed her cheeks. "You deserve to be, though! For shame, throwing yourself in front of that young girl like that! If I didn't stall the flow of time, you would be a corpse and not standing before me."

"Oh." Byleth blinked. "Thank you."

Sothis' mouth hung open with a small 'o' before quickly snapping shut. A satisfied grin spread across her features. "Gratitude that is well due! It should be no surprise, though, as I did deem you worth saving, didn't I?"

There was a pause as Sothis looked Byleth up and down before letting out a deep sigh. "Nonetheless, you are not truly saved. When time resumes, the axe will continue tearing into your flesh and you will meet an untimely end." She put her hands on her hips, glaring at Byleth once again. "How rude of you to drag me into this! Now what to do…"

Byleth squinted at Sothis. The answer seemed rather obvious. "You stopped time. Why not turn it back?"

"Oh, of course!" Sothis eyes widened. "I'm quite sure it can be done. I cannot turn the hands of time back too far… but just enough. Now go, you who bears the flames within. Drift through the flow of time to find the answers that you seek…"

Byleth had no chance to ponder the young girl's words as weightlessness returned to her limbs and her mind went dark.

Rook walked carefully around the battlefield. It felt like he was walking through a photo. He expected everyone to relax and unfreeze like it was a child's prank, but their unblinking eyes betrayed the truth of the situation.

Rook picked up a sword from the ground and slashed at the grass. Instead of blades scattering from his swing, they did not move. There was a clear cut where the grass floated mere millimeters from the rest of its stem.

"Mr. Oddman? Can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, Rook. It looks like we found out what happens when you're not stuck in that Eisner girl's pocket dimension."

"Come again?"

"I'm running every scan from 'a' to 'z' right now." Ken said. "The girl is in that weird mindspace dimension you got sucked into earlier… and it looks like this is what happens to the world when she's in there."

Rook nodded. He walked up to the red-caped young woman, inspecting her features. She looked like a statue, yet when he poked her cheek the flesh gave way true to life. "So time is stopped until she gets back."

"Precisely, although I'm surprised it doesn't affect you."

"Wouldn't it be because of the anchors?"

"That's what I thought, but they're not active." Ken pondered, "It doesn't seem like you are resisting time, but that time forgot about you."

"That's not exactly comforting." Rook grunted. Before any further words could be exchanged, Rook jumped as the young girl began to move. Her motions were not organic; it seemed as if she were being pulled like a puppet. Looking around rapidly, he saw that everyone was moving consecutively in the same controlled fashion. "What's happening?"

"The flow of time is moving the wrong way! Look!"

Rook glanced at the ground where a bandit, dead as the dirt he laid upon, was suddenly standing in a threatening battle stance. The stab wound he had been gifted from the blond boy had sealed up as if it were never there.

"Get back to the outskirts, Rook, this isn't looking safe."

"Don't have to tell me twice, sir." Rook sprinted to the edge of the battlefield, careful to avoid the people sliding and floating back to place. He narrowly dodged two arrows flying backwards and the inverted swing of a sword. No sooner did he return to his earlier hiding spot did everyone stop moving.

At where Rook was standing mere seconds ago, Byleth had reappeared and gracefully touched down. Before she could fully appreciate her return to reality, a familiar voice rang out.

"You'll die!"

Once again, the bandit was charging the white-haired girl.

Byleth felt the ground moving underneath her feet, the whistle in her ears, and the thud of an axe… on her sword. She deflected the blow with a deft parry before launching a fierce haymaker into the bandit's face, sending him sprawling a few feet away.

Sothis' magic had worked. Byleth looked around to see everyone finishing up the fight like before, as if nothing unusual had happened. She saw her father riding up to her, eyes wide.

"Kid, are you okay? Did you just-"

Before she could finish, another voice rang out over the waning din of combat.

"The Knights of Seiros are here! We'll cut you down for terrorizing our students!" It cried out enthusiastically. Byleth and Jeralt looked to see who it was. A white armored knight with slick, pomaded hair had arrived with a company of uniformed soldiers shortly behind. "Hey, the thieves are running away! Go after them! Thank the goddess that the students are unharmed..."

Jeralt groaned as the white knight's eyes fell upon him and his daughter. "You've got to be kidding me…"

"Captain Jeralt!" The knight's eyes widened. "It is you! Goodness, it's been ages! Don't you recognize me? It's Alois! It must've been twenty years since you disappeared without a trace!"

"Twenty years and yet you haven't changed a bit. Just as loud as ever." Jeralt shook his head. "But no, it is not me. I'm just a wandering mercenary, one who is very busy and must go. Goodbye, old friend."

Jeralt firmly grasped his daughter's shoulder and began to steer her away. He did not get far before Alois had jogged up beside him. "Wait, this is not how it ends! You must return to the monastery!"

"I'd rather not." Jeralt said shortly. Alois was not deterred.

"What about this young woman? Is she perhaps your daughter?"

"She's not anybody that you-"

"Yes. My name's Byleth."

Jeralt stopped walking. He furrowed his brow at Byleth's honesty, who merely stared back blankly..

"Ah! Perfect!" Alois clapped his hands together. "You must show your dear daughter the monastery, captain! Won't you join us on our return?"

Byleth looked at her father curiously. His face was contorted with hidden emotions as his eyes flitted between Alois and his daughter.

"You're not going to run away again, are you captain?" Alois said, his voice becoming more serious. "You may have eluded the church, but now that your proximity is known the archbishop will not hesitate to send out a detachment for you."

"Even I wouldn't dare run from the Knights of Seiros." Jeralt said grimly. "And to think I was doing so well…"

"Perfect!" Alois said, clapping his hands together. "Once my knight-scouts return, we shall form up our companies and make to the Garreg Mach with haste!"

Rook peered out from the shadows of the forest edge, watching the company of knights set out. He was surprised to see that Jeralt's band of mercenaries, the blade breaker and his daughter included, were following. From what he eavesdropped, it seemed that Jeralt and the white armored knight, Alois, had some sort of past. More importantly, however, was that the Eisner girl was being directed to Garreg Mach.

"Two birds with one stone!" Ken said excitedly. "Today is truly fortuitous!"

"Yes, it was especially fortuitous when I was nearly killed by a dimensional anomaly." Rook said sarcastically.

"You worry too much, dear Rook. I have seen you come unscathed from thrice the danger." Ken scoffed. "On a more serious note, this changes our plan considerably. I need to talk to the rest of the crew."

"I'm going to tail them."

"Fair enough. Just don't get caught. Oddman out."

The intercom clicked off. Ken punched a few numbers on his tablet, sending out a ping to Bottlecap and Valentine's pagers. They both arrived a few minutes later.

"Hey, Mr. Oddman!" Bottlecap waved to Ken cheerily. Valentine simply dipped her head.

"How can we be of use, sir?"

"There's been a change of plans. The Eisner girl and her father were roped in with some knights belonging to the monastery, which means there won't be a split between Garreg Mach and the mercenary company heading north."

Bottlecap visibly deflated. "Aw man, really? I was excited to get deployed, I even studied all the field notes! Right, Miss Valentine?"

Valentine nodded, patting Bottlecap on the head. "You did indeed. Truly a shame."

Ken smirked as Bottlecap swatted Valentine's hand away with a pout. "Fortunately, your excitement is not misplaced. You're going to be deployed anyway."

"Really?"

"Really. The dimensional complications are proving to be more frequent and volatile than I expected." Ken said matter of factly. "Rook was nearly turned into dust earlier today. I'd be a lot more comfortable if there were boots on the ground to ensure it doesn't happen again and not just whatever strings I can pull from my office."

"Mr. Rook nearly did what now?" Bottlecap narrowed her eyes threateningly.

"He nearly died. Key word being nearly. He is fine and in good health." Ken said unperturbed. Bottlecap nodded and folded her arms, mulling the words over in her head.

"What time should Bottlecap touch down to Fodlan?" Valentine asked.

"As soon as possible. Rook is tailing them now, but if Jeralt's company had run into students and knights from the monastery so easily, they cannot be that far away. I say that we prep for a morning deployment."

"Understood, sir." Valentine nodded, before turning to Bottlecap. "Go get your things together, dear, and then get some shut eye."

"Got it!" Bottlecap said, turning to leave the room. "No one's gonna die on my watch!"

Valentine made way to follow her out. "Goodnight, sir. I'll see you bright and early in the morning."

"Naturally, Val. Be ready."

Byleth could not believe that so many words could exit a single person's mouth. Alois was at Jeralt's heels every second of their journey to Garreg Mach, bombarding him with questions about his time away. This was to Byleth's distaste because she felt very out of element with the new people she was travelling were all too talkative. Where the mercenaries were quiet and professional, not completely unlike her, the knights were bantering and laughing. She could hardly believe that these were supposed to be a renowned knight chapter.

Or at least that's what the white haired girl told her. Her name was Edelgard and she came up to Byleth as everyone was preparing to leave for Garreg Mach. She expressed her thanks and appreciation of Byleth's notable combat skill. Before many words could be exchanged, Edelgard's companions came up beside them.

"Hey, merc! I heard that you were coming with us to the monastery!"

"Her name is Byleth, Claude, don't be so crass." Edelgard said coldly. The gold-caped boy, Claude, took Edelgard's tone in stride.

"Ah, my bad, forgot about the exquisite formalities of introduction. Did ol' princess here already tell you we're students of the monastery? We were doing training exercises when those bandits attacked. I definitely got the worst of it."

"That was because you ran off, Claude." The blue caped boy said plainly.

"I was making a strategic retreat!" Claude said proudly, "And it would've worked perfectly if you chuckleheads didn't follow me. You two somehow managed to get every single one of the bandits to chase us. Utterly ridiculous!"

"Ah, so that's what you were thinking." The other boy continued. "I thought you were trying to divert their attention."

"His intentions were clear as day, Dmitri". Edelgard narrowed her eyes. "You will prove a lacking ruler if you cannot see the truth behind a person's words."

"And you will prove a lacking ruler if you look for deceit behind everything spoken and fail to place strength in trust." Dmitri shot back without missing a beat.

"Ah, another lovely debate between our highnesses." Claude stretched his arms and rested them behind his neck before shooting Byleth a sidelong look. "They do this a lot. You'll get used to it quickly."

"Please ignore his words and forgive our digression." Dmitri said, turning his attention to Byleth as well. "I wanted to mention that the way you fought against the bandits was incredible! You never lost control for a moment. It was humbling to see I still have much to learn."

"Indeed." Edelgard cut in, despite it being obvious that Dmitri was going to continue. "Your skill is precisely why I implore you to lend your services to the Empire. I'll have you know that I am no mere student, and that-"

"Halt, Edelgard." Dmitri countered. "I had not finished my own proposition. As I was saying, your combat skill is exceptional. Faerghus is in dire need of individuals such as yourself. I would be pleased if you considered returning to the Kingdom with me."

"Jeez, you two sure are hasty to recruit. I planned to at least find out what her favorite color was before begging for favors." Claude said. "But in all seriousness, where does your allegiance lie?"

Byleth couldn't keep up with their conversation and barely registered their propositions. Did people really talk this much?

"I… uh…" She began. The three students looked at her expectantly. She didn't know what to say. Her whole life was that of a wanderer. Allegiance? Kingdoms? Empires? Byleth felt like she needed a fair amount of explanation before considering swearing loyalty to anyone. She cast her gaze around. Jeralt was still getting his ear talked off by Alois, and the only other person she could think of to get her out of the situation was long gone.

"Why are you here? I thought you were going to be staying with Ken when we started going to the monastery!"

Maybe not as long gone as she thought.

"You know Ken can't keep me cooped up! Besides, he said that somebody was being a reckless doofus and needed to be baby-sat."

"Reckless? How was I supposed to know what was going to happen? I was just sitting there!"

The company of knights and mercenaries came to a halt, looking curiously at the two standing ahead in the path.

"Rook!"

Byleth heard her father call out, striding to the front of the group. Rook perked up and walked over to meet him with his companion close behind.

"Ah, hello Jeralt! I see you have gained more friends since we last talked." Rook said, shaking his hand firmly.

"I could say the same for you. I forgot that you were heading to Garreg Mach."

"Naturally, but I thought you were going north to Faerghus?" Rook said. "What are you doing, heading deeper into the Oghma mountains?"

Jeralt jerked a thumb back. "Got caught up with the Knights of Seiros. We're taking a detour."

"Ah, I always thought you were a troublemaker." Rook ribbed. Jeralt shook his head, but before he could respond Alois was beside him.

"Captain Jeralt is nothing if not the noblest knight!" He said with an uncharacteristically icy tone. "Who are you, stranger? Why would a foreigner be so close to the most sacred monastery?"

"Goddess above, Alois, be at peace. The man's a travelling historian." Jeralt said firmly.

Alois squinted. "A historian?"

"It's true." Byleth said plainly, taking a place on the other side of her father. Rook's sudden reappearance was a great opportunity to escape the uncomfortable proposals of allegiance and she had no intent to waste it. "It's good to see you again, Rook."

Rook chuckled. "It hasn't been that long, but well met all the same." He looked at Alois who had his back bent and neck craned to look at Rook's helmet. "I'm sorry if my activity was suspicious. I have heard of your order and hoped that my first encounter would have been on better terms."

"Nonsense!" Alois said cheerily. His usual demeanor had returned instantly, much to the surprise of Jeralt and Byleth. "Any friend of the captain is a friend of mine! Who is this young girl with you?"

"I'm Bo!" Bottlecap waved to them. "Nice to meet ya!"

"She's my daughter." Rook said, placing a hand on her shoulder. Jeralt had a double take and Byleth's eyes widened ever so slightly.

"Huh. I didn't peg you for the fatherly type." Jeralt scratched the back of his head. "But I don't have much leeway myself. Where was she this whole time, Rook?"

"She was supposed to be back home." They could hear his tone grow firm as it filled the air around them. "And I was just wondering why she's out here."

Bottlecap folded her arms and glared at Rook's helmet. "Maybe if you wrote back, or even visited every once in a while, I wouldn't have to come out looking for your dumbass."

"Watch your language, you little-!"

Jeralt coughed loudly into his fist. Rook and Bottlecap snapped out of the argument, returning their attention sheepishly to the three standing before them. "You two are still going to Garreg Mach?"

"That is correct." Rook said. Jeralt nodded and turned to Alois.

"As I said before, Rook here is a well-travelled historian. We met him a few weeks back and he's been heading to the monastery in search of more knowledge. Would you mind if he and his daughter accompanied us?"

"That would be lovely!" Alois exclaimed. "Please let me apologize for my earlier attitude as well. In my defense, you look like quite the suspicious type, Rook."

"I tell him that all the time, sir." Bottlecap smiled sweetly at her taller companion. "I think it's the helmet that does it. It's such a shame you always hide that handsome mug, dad."

Rook flicked Bottlecap's nose, causing the girl to yelp and shoot him a glare. "Keep your thoughts to yourself, Bo."

Jeralt grinned. Maybe returning to the monastery wouldn't be so bad after all.

Isn't it true, though? Things never seem to be as bad as they are in our heads. Personally, I was dreading having to deal with some trouble that came my way this week, but now that it is done I wonder why I ever worried. For whatever trials you face, however big or small, have faith that there is a way through it.

Reviews are welcomed and encouraged. Tell me what you like and don't like; I will take it into account.

And of course, thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed.

Go in peace,

Louproxy