Wade inhaled deeply. The awful stench of sweaty bodies pushed to their limits assaulted his nose. The walls were crumbling and the ground looked rough with a mixture of dirt and a few jagged rocks, probably pieces of masonry that had fallen free of the walls. There were spots of blood everywhere; some was smeared on the walls while the dirt in some places was stained red.
It was a dirty, rough, and manly place, and Wade liked it. He hadn't frequented the place much before; when his sister was alive they had preferred training outside. With his injuries, he did not feel like it was a smart thing leave the Syliran Knights' protection.
He straightened up and stretched out his back. It was still cramped from the days spent staring at his ceiling. The pain had faded away at least and, though he was possibly risking re-injury, he couldn't stand to look at that same stonework for another minute. He had practically jumped at the opportunity to come out and do something else. However, Wade still leaned heavily on the makeshift crutch after having tried to put his weight on that leg earlier that morning with disastrous results. He would respect that injury for a little while longer, he had decided.
Wade put his weight against the wall and set his crutch aside, trying to figure out exactly how he was going to go about doing this before the monk showed up. He couldn't very well stand out in the opening and draw his bow, that would put too much weight on his leg. He would have to find out a way that he could fire his bow while either on one foot or leaning against the wall.
Wade decided to try the latter first, thinking a man hopping around and falling over every time he released a shot would just be laughed at. He set his quiver down on the ground within easy reach and grabbed his bow and an arrow. He leaned his right shoulder against the wall and held his bow up in his right hand. He drew back cautiously, feeling that he was balancing rather precariously. He sighted a stone somewhat further down the pit and let loose.
The shot did not affect his balance as much as he thought it would and, with a surprised smile, he managed to keep his position leaning against the wall. The arrow flew straight and true and thudded off the stone block that he had been aiming for. It wasn't a great shot; it was a short range and he had given himself a large target. Still, Wade felt pretty good about finding away to work around his injured leg.
Wade picked up his crutch and hobbled over to retrieve his arrow. He returned to his spot and slid down to the ground, settling in to wait for the monk's arrival.
