Legends of Chima: Corvus Sicarius

Chapter I

Ripnik silently landed his Chi raider on top of  the landing pad of the Eagle Spire. He paid a lot of money to make the raider as quiet as possible, and it paid off.

He sneaked into the library through a small window and started looking through the "nonfictional battle plans" section. After quickly reading through 30 different plans to invade the beaver dam ranked by weather, season and time of day Ripnik returned to his Chi raider with five different books from the section.

Ripnik slowly sipped his cup of water while listening to the rain outside his raven pod. He could hear his neighbor Robert getting ready for work, but other than that, it was quiet.

Hearing a thunderbolt reminded him to look at his clock, the only thing he had in his pod except his bed and the aforementioned cup. In two minutes his landlord Rawzom is coming by to collect the rent. Usually he collects it somewhere during the day, but that's when Ripnik was asleep. He had other things to do at night.

He heard another thunderbolt, as well as footsteps outside his pod. It was undeniably Rawzom.

He heard knocks on the door a few seconds later, about the time it took for Rawzom to go by the entire pod complex. The knocks signaled Rawzom was annoyed.

Ripnik opened the door without a word and closed the pod after him, money in hand. Rawzom frowned upon seeing him.

"Do you have any idea how long I had to walk, and in this weather!? I had to WALK, and I never walk!" The raven landlord shouted as loudly as he could, waking everbody except Robert up.

"That's why I pay you so much. Here's all the money, see you next month" The raven said as he handed Rawzom his sack of money he was holding in his hand until then.

"2000 Raven credits? That's it!? You have to pay me at least triple the normal rent for the trouble I had to go through to get here!" Rawzom  shouted even louder, causing some of Ripnik's neighbors to complain, after grabbing the other ravens arm and pulling it closer to his face.

"Fine. I can give you 500 more for the rain, but for that kind of money I could have walked to you instead."Ripnik said as he handed the other Raven the spare change he had in his harness.

"Well you will next time! I would continue screaming at you but I have four other ravens that insist on getting their money at night." The raven said and walked away, slowly, so as to not slip on the wet metal stairs.

Ripnik stretched his hand out to feel the rain. It was dense, and it was unlikely to stop anytime soon. He couldn't possibly walk to the Crocodile Swamp Hideout, so he decided to take the night off.

He woke up from Robert's alarm clock, as he often did in the morning. Every week he had to go to the Town square to pick up food and water, and this week was no exception.

 Ripnik arrived at the town square a few minutes later. It was always the most crowded in the morning, which served him well as he stole almost all of the food and water he needed, and the things he bought are the ones under actual protection.

He first went to a raven favorite: the Meat Stand. The meat salesman was always busy guarding the meat from the other ravens, but Ripnik knew that he kept the meat he didn't display under the table. He would always pretend he was trying to grab the meat on the stand, and then slide the meat box from under the table to himself. He then picked the meat box up and pretended it was there the entire time.

After dropping the meat off a few meters behind his pod in a hole in the ground. Ripnik started flying towards the Crocodile Swamp Hideout.

Cragger furiously went through the book while Ripnik stared at him.

"What is this, raven? Where are the plans for Lion City!?" Cragger said as he threw one of the books in the water and ordered a nearby crocodile to pick it up. Ripnik jumped slightly into the air.
"Whatever, knowing the eagles, they probably don't even have them. We can continue with our plans without it, as for you, you better deliver on your next job." Cragger said as he pointed his spear at Ripnik. The raven laughed and flew away.

Ripnik took a sip of water from his cup. He always took his own cup from home as the bartender in Water Bar liked sneaking things into the cups.

Ripnik looked at his cup after removing it from his beak. It was a good cup, made from some kind of clay made about twenty years ago. The salesman who sold it to him said it was made two years ago at the time, and they usually just multiply the number by four.

After waiting for a few minutes, another raven sat on the opposite side of him. As soon as it sat down, the raven blew some smoke from its pipe into Ripnik's face.

"What is that? Some kind of pipe?" Ripnik said after waving the smoke away with the hand not holding his cup.

"Yes. Ripnik. Have you ever been to the Meat Stand?" The raven said while adjusting its hat.

"Only when I steal. Why?" Ripnik said while smiling. The other raven sighed.

I need you to kill the meat salesman."

"What? I'm a thief, remember? You're going to have to go to someone else for that." Ripnik said.

"50 000 credits, Ripnik, you will never have to steal anything ever again. I have a ton of these salesmen I want gone and I will give you that amount of money every time." The other raven said while trying to extinguish the pipe. Ripnik stared at it for a few seconds.

"I have never killed an animal in my life, and the first person I kill won't be my favorite meat salesman, it will be my landlord. I refuse." Ripnik said.

"Who is your landlord?" The other raven said as it lit the pipe again.

"Rawzom. I wouldn't usually give you any information that might help you track me down but he owns nearly every building in town." Ripnik said as he took a sip of water.

"Even better. How about 50 000 credits? Rawzom is even richer than I am, I might even throw in another 500 000 if you actually succeed." The other raven said.

"No... I just can't do that right now, with the whole war going on. Me dying could really hurt the chance of the side I am aligned with." Ripnik said as he emptied his cup of water. The other raven was visibly upset and decided not to let Ripnik finish his joke.

"500 000 credits plus the 50 000 credits, just imagine what you could do with that kind of money. If you decide to do it, just say so, I will hear it, someone will." The other raven said and blew smoke into Ripnik's face once again, then disappeared through a nearby window. Ripnik sighed and disappeared through the same window.