Brussel Sprouts - A 5 Minute Free Write

“Stop that man!” he heard the guard shout from behind him as he bolted over a cart of furs and linen. They were a fair ways behind him at the moment, but he knew that more guards were sure to come in from all directions. He rounded a corner and nearly ran into a woman carrying water back from the well.

“Apologies, madame,” he said, quickly bowing and folding his hands in front of himself to show he meant no harm.

“No harm, sir,” she said with a small smile and continued on her way. As she was about to round the corner, a guard coming the other way knocked her to the floor. She cried out in surprise and pain as the buckets emptied their content onto the cobblestone street.

“You! Get back here.” the guard exclaimed, standing on the girl’s cloak, but not even glancing at her. Kev turned to look at the guard and saw the woman rip her cloak free from under the guard’s boot, knocking him to the ground as well.

Kev chuckled and muttered to himself, “serves you right.” And he was off, dashing into the market nearby. He could still hear that guard cursing as Kev disappeared into the crowded street. He kept a brisk pace through the market, gently moving people aside so he could move unimpeded. Once he got to the other side he saw guards scanning the market crowd and he knew they were looking for him.

Kev looked for some sort of distraction, but the only thing on this side of the market was vegetables in wheelbarrows. He thought about using a barrow full of brussel sprouts as a makeshift marble spill, but once he got closer to the wheelbarrow he saw the vegetables were mostly rotted. “Go figure, nobody likes brussel sprouts in Pleag.”

When Kev looked up from the rows of vegetables he noticed that the guards had moved on and he could make his escape. There were only a few rows of houses between him and the walls of the city now. Kev would have to find a fence for the goods he stole, but that was a problem for another day. For now, it was just two more blocks and a thirty-foot climb.

I went a bit over the allotted time limit, but I think the scene turned out okay. Kev is a thief that could be a bit better at his job, otherwise, he may lose his head. I may continue some of the freewrites from Kev’s perspective and use further prompts to flesh his character out to use in a story or tabletop RPGs. Every good party needs a rogue, right? He is a young human that lives in the country of Sebi, the southernmost kingdom in Eca. It is an odd land with a mix of rainforest and desert climates. There are 4 provinces within Sebi that rule autonomously but they all send representatives to a governing body for matters that involve the entire country, like war, famine, rebellions and international representation.