Well, well, well. This was a surprise. Elizabeth was nowhere to be found, and David had no one supervising him. No Aliira to protect, no one telling him what to do or to return to his quarters. Not that this was rare, but rather Aliira and Salem both were guaranteed to be absent. Perhaps it was a chance for him to do some snooping...

Except for the fact that as he made his way about the Guild, guards were still posted, particularly around Salem's Offices. Dang. So much for that idea. He had really, really wanted to see what the Guild was really up to, but every time he got close to seeing if there was some dirt that would truly paint the Guild for what he knew it was, he was either caught and punished, or he had to abandon his position to avoid the aforementioned catching. He wasn't about to risk it tonight, as well, given the lack of patience the Guild likely had given what had been revealed. On a normal infraction, he got the tar beaten out of him publicly as an example to others, but on -this- night? He would be getting much worse treatment if he had. Instead, he had to apply his mind which had been endowed with curiosity elsewhere. 

And that's when said mind was hit with a quite obvious realization. In fact, so obvious that it caused him to stare dumbfound down the hallway he was walking as he paused. The [b]Library[i][/i][/b]. Why the heck had he not checked out the Guild Library before? It was so obvious. And the best thing is, the Library was open to all Guild members. He would most likely not be bothered at all by anyone with authority unless they knew exactly what he was up to. And even if they did, what proof would they have? [i]'What's this? I'm not allowed to read this book? But its the Guild's History, it'd be a shame if I didn't read about the Guild's Heritage.'[/i] And what the heck could they say to that? Not a single dang thing, as far as he was concerned. Still, if they wanted to, they could still get him in trouble, but it was highly unlikely, and if he did find something, he would be further enlightened to this place's true nature. Or rather...the proof of such a nature.

And so, he continued on into the Library. As he walked into the Library, it looked rather typical, boasting a couple of stories in height and many books, but it wasn't the Great Library of Alexandria. He shrugged, making his way towards the History section in a typical fashion, not really drawing any attention to himself as he looked through the books. At first, nothing truly caught his eye. A little bit about the history of mages here, magic impacting non-magi history there, but then something caught his eye. 

[b][i]The Salem Witch Trials[/i][/b]

(https://docs.google.com/document/d/1l0cvHFadeweL4TcQq3_z2auTq73djr_kJ9oW4glsbPk/edit)

Now. This would be much more interesting. He quickly picked up the small book and opened it up and passed through its pages silently. As he read through it, his eyes caught several things which his mind clenched onto. The Guild had a non-intervention plan before? So when the Dark Shadow acted before, they had done nothing until it effected them? How selfish was that? Typical Guild. He continued reading on, considering the facts at hand, and clenching onto the things that truly interested him. He was already aware that the Dark Shadow had taken Salem's father, but he had no care for that. They took -his- family away, after all. Though, there was a little tinge of guilt as he thought about that. Losing family was...no, don't focus on that. Focus on the task at hand. His eyes dashed back onto the pages in front of him and he soon relaxed back into his quick reading habit, one he was quite accustomed to. 

And then immediately, his eyes turned to slits upon three words. [b]Three. Words. [/b]Which made him absolutely infuriated, his usually calm emotions erupting for a brief moment, as he clenched the book tightly. [i][b]Magical. Anonymity. [u]Mandate.[/u][/b][/i] With that, David felt the sharp pain of anger, as his thumbs seemed to imprint on the pages themselves as he just barely managed to keep his anger in check. After a second, he finally relinquished his anger, sighing and pushing it away mentally. That stupid, stupid mandate. If he had his way...no, don't focus on that. Back on the book. 

Now, the covert operations Salem and her group were doing were interesting. At least someone was doing something to stop the group, though, he was sure the Guild was only doing it out of the idea of survival of their own kind rather than for the sake of non-magi...ok, maybe they cared a little. But they certainly contradicted their actions with their much more foul deeds. As he continued on reading, he found it all more typical. Salem was angered by her father's death, of course she would do her best to dismantle the Dark Shadow. Though something did catch his eye. Aloysius and his [u]senior leadership[/u] got away. How very peculiar. So there were other members that escaped, and they must have rebuilt the Dark Shadow together. He somewhat wondered how they knew to escape before this happened. Perhaps there was a double-agent in their midst? He wondered just how many got away. 

As he continued reading, he took note of how harsh Salem's punishments were, slowly raising his right eyebrow in surprise. Jeez. And he thought he got it bad. Salem really [b]was[/b] revenge driven. Death for -that- many people was...sad. He understood why, but...even he couldn't help but feel a little bad for them. If he saw the world as other magi did, he would even be tempted to wonder if the Guild wasn't at all the darker force working against the true light that was the Dark Shadow. But make no mistake. He had no such sympathy for them, or the Guild. To him, they were both the same in the end. True, one was more preferable to the other, but they both imposed their wills on others in a forceful way that deemed them superior to non-magi. And he had some real issue with that. The only difference was that there were some small glimmers of light that defied the attitudes he saw in the Guild, one of which he was happy to be assigned to, though he hated admitting it sometimes.

But then, the end of the book caught his eye. [i][b]'TimeCubes'[/b][/i]. Now that was an interesting item. Aloysius' personal history? If he could get a hold of one, maybe he could find some -real- dirt on the Guild. Something that would expose them for who they really were, underneath all the talk of protecting non-magi. But then, they were in Salem's possession. Likely heavily guarded. Ungh. No thanks. At least...not yet. Maybe someday. He then quickly closed the book, putting it away, and made his way back to his quarters silently. He was feeling tired, and he didn't want to stick around here for much longer than he needed to. But he was thankful to learn a little something. he would have to keep an eye out for these 'TimeCubes' in the future. And so he headed home, to retire for the night.