Not soon after arriving at the harbor, the four men noticed a small melee occurring, involving three men, apparently harassing some locals. The three men were dead giveaways as pirates, wearing headscarves, sashes, and plenty of jewelry- clearly these men had criminal pasts that went beyond the simple terrorizing of fishermen.
As the Musketeers slowly approached, the taunting of the men began to be heard: "…whenever we wish. So stand back if you value your necks. Our Master Collaart would not approve."
So this is not the infamous Jacob Collaart but some underlings, Athos thought. Therefore engaging them now would not suffice, as they wished to cut this problem off at the head.
"You- you have no right to do this!" One of the local citizens protested.
By now, the Musketeers were infiltrated with the other citizens.
Porthos then did something that startled his brothers, but only for a second.
Porthos punched the citizen, hard, in the stomach. The man yelped, then keeled over in pain.
As the poor man looked up at his unexpected assailant, Porthos pointed to the pirate and said, "You'd do well ta listen to him, mate; 'cause 'e's the law aroun' here now."
Porthos' brothers had recovered long enough to get behind him in body language and attitude, smiling in approval at his words.
"Surprising to see how some of you know who now makes the rules here," the pirate said.
"Oh, we ain't any 'a them- 'eaven forbid," Porthos continued. "We- just want in on a piece 'a the action."
"Yes- we heard rumors in town that those bastard Musketeers, shall we say, thinned your ranks recently," Aramis said.
"And what of it?" the Pirate asked.
"If we can get in on a share of your spoils, I think you can find ourselves valuable," D'Artagnan quickly replied.
As the Pirate could not honestly say that they weren't interested in new members in light of recent events, he hesitated before saying "And how do I-"
He was interrupted by Porthos throwing an apple he had bought at the local market, and throwing it high into the air.
Without hesitation, Aramis had unsheathed his musket, fired, and effortlessly blew the apple into a dozen pieces.
Athos opened his arms wide in supplication and said, "If you will allow, we can further demonstrate our value elsewhere." Athos hoped 'elsewhere' would be interpreted as onboard the ship.
The pirate stood silent for a long moment, then turned to his two comrades.
"Take their swords and muskets."
After they had done so, the Pirate ordered: "This way."
As the Musketeers followed, Aramis caught Porthos' visage. He whispered, "It worked. You took advantage of an opening. Remember the ultimate goal is to take these men down so that these people will be molested no more."
"I know, but-"
"That man will survive your punch. And ultimately will benefit from what we will be trying to do here, I assure you."