You were always a lucky student; the instructors at the Heroes' Academy had said as much when you graduated. Your sparring partners always slipped, your salve ingredients always combined the right way, your sword always seemed to end up at your opponent's weak spot. Some said you had the Goddess watching over you. Most just thought you were an undeservingly jammy sod. When you sauntered out of the Academy for the last time there weren't many people sad to see you go.
Your first task as a fully-fledged Hero was to find something heroic to do. Unfortunately, whether or not you found it was entirely up to chance.
The path of the Hero is a winding one, but the grace of the Goddess will lead you to where you are needed
. The instructors had drummed that platitude into you for the last three years. Of course, it was just code for
A Hero wanders around aimlessly until the Goddess finds something for him to do
, but if anyone heard you mutter it under your breath then it would be bread and water for a week.
So, with your trusty sword at your hip and a tune on your lips, you set off for the forest. Perhaps this left path would have something for you to solve, perhaps a couple of rabble-rousing bandits, or even a goblin den... your imagination wanders almost as much as you do for the next few hours, so when the sun sets and you stumble upon a small village at the foot of Mount Madhollow, you sigh.
You enter the quiet tavern, taking in the aroma of smoke and old beer, slamming down a gold piece on the wooden counter for an ale and a bed for the night. The bartender looks warily at you, her piercing blue eyes giving you a cursory once-over, gaze lingering on your sword. Evidently you don't seem like the sort to cause trouble, as she grunts, taking the coin and pointing at the furthest room with one hand as she deftly fills a battered pewter mug for you. Taking a seat at the bar, you gingerly sip at the ale. After a pause you take a deeper draught, deciding you rather like it.
Finishing your ale, your eyes dart around the room. Too many women, you decide; there are four men in the room out of about thirty, all of them elderly. Strange. You'd heard tales of villages like this, and none of them ended well. You decide maybe you don't want to stay here after all, so as you thank the barkeep for her hospitality, you get up to leave, when-
"A Hero, are you?"
You turn to see a pretty girl beaming at you. In a waitress uniform, with those eyes... the barkeeper's daughter. Putting on your most heroic voice, you say, "Y-yes. Graduated today, in fact."
"Really? Hmhm, that's lucky..." she smiles. She looks even nicer when she smiles. "I'm sure you've noticed the lack of men. Something's taking them."
You blanch. "Taking your men!?"
She nods. "It started two months ago. Every week, two or three of our men would vanish. We petitioned for help from the Hero's College but they never responded... it's the Goddess at work, you turning up like this."
Dear Goddess, why!? Many Heroes take years to find the deed that makes their names, but you can't even get a whole day? Well, as a Hero you can't turn a cry for help down...
"How were your men taken?"
"No idea. They'd go off farming for the day, or mining and... gone. Like something had just plucked them from the face of the earth."
Hmm... interesting. You'd heard tales of monsters doing something like this, whether a predator snatching unaware prey, or females in heat capturing mates.
"No prints? Just... gone?"
"No prints," she nods.
"Must be something that can fly," you say, mostly to yourself. What kind of monsters fly? Dragons, harpies, a lot of animal-based monsters... this isn't helping much.
"Probably," she says. "We have no idea where they come from, or why they're being taken, you've got to help!" She ends the sentence pleadingly. Even if you weren't duty-bound to never deny a call for help, you'd do it in an instant for the expression on her face.
You sigh, pushing the mug back towards the barkeep. "I'll begin tomorrow. Tonight, I need some sleep."
"Fair enough," she says while stepping away, "I'll let you get some rest. If you want any more drink or some food, it's on the house for you."
"Thanks for the offer, but it's getting late. Don't worry, I'll get your men back," you say with a smile. She returns it, turning around to wait on a couple of ladies at a table near the back.
Well, the road has been long, but you have ale in your belly, a bed to lie on, and a pretty damsel to help. So far, the Hero life is good. You unbuckle your sword and climb under the covers, dreaming of the waitress, and all the things she could do if she was thankful enough...
You wake up to a knock on the door. "It's morning," says the waitress from the other side. "I've got a hot breakfast for you at the bar so don't take too long!"
Throwing off the covers, you get your sword and bag of belongings, blinking the sleep out of your eyes. Opening the door and scarfing down a sweet spiced porridge, the bar's much emptier than it was last night. "Since most of the men are gone, the women have to do the menial work. It's not an ideal situation, but whatever it is, it isn't going after us."
That seemed to be as much helpful information as could be gotten out of anyone, so after saying some goodbyes you head out.
Standing just outside the village, you scan the horizon. Something that flies... it stands to reason that a flying monster would live in the mountains. Then again, harpies form human-like settlements on the ground, not even counting the insect-based monsters that lived deeper in the forests... ugh, this wasn't going to be easy, was it? Hm. Maybe it was a long shot, but...
Monsters, being unholy creatures, gave off dark magic. Even if the monster had no overtly magical abilities, she could still leave traces wherever she went... and the Heroes had found a way to exploit it.