Bolwayke

bull-wok-ee

"Come back here!" yelled a tall, lanky man, as he chased a young boy, through the narrow alley.

Bolwayke(Bull-wok-ee) had a slight lead on the older man, and several others who were in hot pursuit. The teenager knew he was in the wrong, but he was used to taking things he wanted and the soft green glow the book emitted made it irresistible to him.

'Zzt', 'Zzt'. The young boy narrowly ducked the two spells cast at him. He couldn't understand why these wizards were so tenacious. It was just a spell book that he'd stolen. Further, when he thought about it, he wondered why he didn't just throw it back to them. After all, he was not the best reader and most of the spells would likely be beyond his ability.

'Zzt', 'Zzt', 'Zzt'. More spells flew past him. The zig zag pattern he was running had saved him, but he couldn't escape the spells forever. Hoping to lose them, Bolwayke emerged from the alley and quickly ducked into the first shop he saw. It was a small artisan bakery. Without slowing down, he continued straight to the back room. Looking back as he barreled through the saloon doors, the young boy did not see the large man in his path. Bolwayke bounced off him, landing on his backside. The book tumbled from his arm and landed beside him on the floor. The baker barely moved and, except for his toque falling forward a little, he was almost oblivious to the encounter.

The man glanced down at the boy and then his eyes homed in on the book. He read the cover Advanced Spells. Simian's Guide. His pleasant grin turned to a sneer and he reached down to grab the young boy and the book. Panicking, Bolwayke fired a spell at the baker, but missed. Instead his spell hit the large oven directly behind the baker, just as the other wizards burst into the room.

The spell somehow ignited the gas oven and created an explosion that engulfed the room. The metal door flew through the room, ricocheting off the baking table before colliding with two wizards. The table splintered on contact, sending slivers of wood in every direction. Bolwayke escaped major injury since he was on the floor but everyone in the room was knocked unconscious.

After a few moments Bolwayke stirred. He was groggy and in pain, but he pulled himself to his feet quickly surveying the room. The back wall of the building was completely gone. The baker was under debris from the destroyed wall and wasn't moving. The young wizard bent down to pick up the stolen book which was partially under the baker's hand. As he did, he could see some of the other wizards stirring.

Bolwayke wasted no time, scrambling out the back of the bakery just before the wizards located him. The chase was back on, but this time Bolwayke had put a little more distance between himself and his pursuers. The wizards were casting spells, but they weren't reaching him, so he kept running at top speed.