Chapter Six

'The trick with this,' said Porthos as he carefully arranged the gunpowder, 'is to use as little as possible…'

He looked up at the rocks he was laying the trail from. The small rock that would be dislodged was holding up several bigger rocks above it. The explosion would, he hoped, cause the bigger rocks to fall, sliding down the face of the rocky hill and block the small cave entrance below.

They had managed to circle around to the smaller cave entrance and silently work their way over the rocks to a spot above the guards. The three men were looking out, towards the wooded area around their hideout. They were not paying any attention to the rocks above them.

D'Artagnan had poured the last of the gunpowder they had taken from Aramis before he infiltrated the mercenary's hideout. The short line of powder would leave them only a few seconds to get out of the way but they had limited resources and could not afford to use more than absolutely necessary.

Porthos straightened up and leaned out over the rocky hill a little, watching the oblivious guards beneath them. He nodded to himself. The men would probably have time to get out of the way, provided they were quick. The aim of the explosion was to cause panic and block the entrance. In turn, they hoped the distraction would give Treville the chance to escape. Although the whole plan hinged on Aramis managing to reach the Captain and telling him what was going to happen.

As they backed away from their planned distraction Porthos looked around, spotting Athos watching them from the tree line a few yards away from the cave entrance. His friend was alternately looking up at them and looking around for any of the mercenaries. It would not do for one of them to wander past and happen to look up above the cave entrance. If they were spotted laying their gunpowder the plan would be ruined. The smaller entrance was not very far from the main, larger cave entrance. They knew they would easily be overpowered by the mercenaries. What they wanted was panic and confusion from the men to give Treville a chance to get away.

The shepherd hut they had come across on their way to the caves was to act as their rendezvous point. They had left a few provisions in the hut and Aramis had laid his medical bag down on the small table, looking at it for a few seconds. They all knew the chances of them completing the rescue mission without any injuries was very slim. Porthos just hoped whatever happened to them was minor.

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Treville stared at the entrance to his side cave, waiting to see Aramis appear. The Musketeer was talking to the guard. Treville could make out the odd word, his Musketeer said something about food and that it would be fine for a few minutes. The guard grunted in response before easing himself up from his stool and shuffling off.

A few seconds later Aramis stepped into view. He was wearing plain clothes and the same dull yellow scarf that the other mercenaries wore. Aramis grinned for a moment before saying something to him in Spanish. The tone of his voice told Treville whatever was being said was detrimental. Aramis was keeping to his cover and pretending he did not approve of Treville and what he had been doing. Most of the mercenaries had been indifferent towards him but a few had spat towards him and made what he guessed were unpleasant comments.

'You filthy creatures don't know how to treat a prisoner,' said Treville in an attempt to help Aramis with his cover.

He had been intermittently complaining about his treatment since they had bound his arms behind his back.

'I've not had any water for hours…'

Aramis glanced up and down the main cave before stepping into Treville's smaller cave. He pulled a water skin from his waist, unstopped it and held it for Treville to drink from. Gratefully, Treville took a few sips. Aramis glanced behind him again before leaning in closer, looking at the ropes around his wrists.

'We're going to cause a distraction,' said Aramis quietly being careful not to let his voice echo around the rocky caves. 'I'll loosen your ropes…'

Treville leaned forward as Aramis worked, pulling the rope just loose enough for Treville to be able to slip one hand out of the bindings.

'Get out whilst they're trying to work out what has happened. We'll continue to be a nuisance to them for as long as possible. There's a hut, an old shepherd's hut, about one mile from here. Circle around the caves and look for three taller trees, head that way. We'll join you when we can.'

The urgency of Aramis' instruction told Treville that he did not have time to question his rescuer.

'If I could I would just leave with you, but there are too many of them between here and the cave entrance-'

'It's alright, Aramis,' said Treville, 'I'll get out. But could you just describe the route to the cave entrance? I've no idea how far into the caves I am.'

Aramis smirked, 'Captain, you're only about one hundred yards from the entrance. They must have taken you by an odd route to confuse you. Turn left out of here and follow it along. You'll see the light almost straight away.'

Treville shook his head annoyed at being confused by the mercenaries so easily. He watched Aramis pull a slim dagger from his boot and slip it into his own. The simple weapon was not much but better than nothing.

'Good luck,' said Aramis as he scrambled up.

The guard was returning. As the man came into view Aramis had already returned to the entrance of the side cave, he had switched back to speaking Spanish and appeared to be insulting him again. The guard appeared to approve. Aramis glanced at him once before disappearing back the way he had arrived.

Treville looked at his guard, who was staring at him with disdain. The man grunted before turning and sitting back on his rickety stool to eat the food he had returned with.

Treville wondered how long he would have to wait before the distraction began. He remained alert.

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Athos looked away from Porthos and d'Artagnan as they slowly made their way back to the ground. Porthos was ready to set the small explosion. The Musketeer had made eye contact with him for a few seconds and nodded. D'Artagnan moved off a few yards, pulling his gun as he did so, readying himself for the fight they were about to engage in.

The odds were very much against them, but with the explosions, there was a chance the mercenaries would think they were being attacked by more than four men. Mercenaries were paid, they were hired, they were not necessarily loyal to their paymaster. Athos hoped the men would run, not stand and fight. Their own lives would be more important to them than a cause they probably either knew nothing about or cared little for.

Aramis appeared at the cave entrance and walked out, he walked casually, not drawing attention to himself. The idea was that he would wander off and join them to fight the mercenaries. The idea was sound, but it was not about to play out as they wanted.

A scarred man was looking at Aramis carefully. The man broke off his conversation with another couple of the mercenaries and called out to Aramis. Athos watched as the scarred man slowly drew his gun, keeping it held behind his back. Athos knew Aramis would not have missed the move. The scarred man and Aramis exchanged a few words. Aramis appeared to be telling the scarred man where he was going. It was obvious the ruse had been found out. Other men were taking an interest. Aramis was in danger; he could not get away from the men.

Aramis had worked out that he was not going to get away easily. He pulled his gun and raised it but was not quick enough to beat the mercenary who already had his gun in his hand. The shot brought all the nearby mercenaries to attention. Aramis had been hit in the side; his reaction told Athos the injury was serious enough that his friend would not be helping them to fight the mercenaries. Aramis clutched at his left side; the shock obvious on his face. He stumbled back a few paces. Athos could almost see the thoughts rushing through the injured man's mind. Aramis knew he had to take himself away from the situation or he would be an unwelcome distraction to the three uninjured Musketeers. Or the mercenaries would use him as a bargaining tool. Before the scarred mercenary could either reload or move towards Aramis, the injured man turned and run. He stumbled but managed to retain his footing. Athos lost sight of Aramis in the undergrowth, he could only hope the fact that Aramis had been able to move on foot would mean he could get far enough away from the inevitable fight to not offer himself up as an easy target.

Athos looked across to Porthos who could see the unfolding events from his spot near the smaller cave entrance. As Aramis disappeared from sight Athos stood up, the men guarding the smaller cave, who were more alert than a lot of the other mercenaries, saw him and took a couple of steps forward.

'Now, Porthos,' yelled Athos as he raised his gun in the direction of the men.

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The small explosion did exactly what they had wanted it to. D'Artagnan had already been running towards the area in front of the larger cave entrance as the rocks rained down on the small entrance. The short line of gunpowder had only taken a few seconds to be eaten up by the spark Porthos had set. Both men were away from the point of the explosion in time. The three men under the rocks were not as lucky. D'Artagnan thought he caught a glimpse of one of the men grabbing another and pulling him backwards into the caves, but the third was most definitely crushed by the large rocks as they landed.

The sight of Aramis getting shot and being forced to run from the mercenaries had been sobering. They were down to three men before the fighting had even started. D'Artagnan hoped Aramis would have the sense and capability to make it to the shepherd's hut, if he wandered off into the woods, the chances of finding him again would be slim.

But there was no time to worry about Aramis or wonder if the Captain was going to be able to escape in the confusion.

D'Artagnan had pulled his gun as he moved forward, he fired at the first mercenary that came towards him, the ball entering the man's head causing him to stumble to the ground, inadvertently causing the man immediately behind him to trip over him. The second man smacked his head into the ground and remained still on top of the man that d'Artagnan had shot.

Pulling his sword, the Musketeer was soon embroiled in a fight with two mercenaries. One of whom was not particularly engaged in the fight. D'Artagnan guessed the man really wanted to just run away. Their plan was working. Behind the men, he was fighting d'Artagnan saw another couple take off into the woods without a second glance at their comrades.

He heard Athos yell at Porthos about the third cave entrance. As Porthos charged passed him and the two men he was fighting, his friend swung his main gauche across the side of the man who was not concentrating, sending him spinning to the floor bleeding from a wound that would kill him in a matter of minutes.

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Dodging to the side, Porthos missed the swing of a heavy looking wooden club. The man wielding the deadly looking weapon was big and clearly knew what he was doing. But Porthos was quicker, he thrust forward with his sword, embedding the blade into the man's chest before he had time to swing the club back at Porthos a second time. With a bodily shove, Porthos sent the attacker to the ground.

He saw several other mercenaries running out of the cave. He thought he spotted Treville amongst them but could not be sure in the confusion.

The third cave entrance was slightly hidden from view, but their trail of gunpowder was visible. Porthos had saved his gun, not wanting to waste the shot on any of the mercenaries when it could be put to more destructive use. As he pulled the weapon from his belt, he noticed another mercenary rushing towards him. A quick parry with his sword pushed the man back a few steps. The move giving him the few seconds he needed to aim and fire his gun. Pleased with his true aim, Porthos turned ready to run. He knew he had to put some distance between him and where the second explosion was set to go off. The third cave entrance had needed a bit more powder scattered around it to ensure a good collapse of rock.

The man who had attacked Porthos, could not understand that he was not really interested in staying to fight. The man managed to get a lucky swing of his sword to hit Porthos across the back. The power in the slice of the sword had been weak. Porthos doubted the blade had done more the scuff his doublet. He spun around pushing the man's sword away with his main gauche and thrusting forward with his sword, slicing into the man's shoulder, close to his neck. The panic that filled the man's eyes told Porthos he had done enough to incapacitate the man.

Porthos turned, he went to take a step forward but the explosion caught him before he could get away.

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