"However, the boy knew that the sorcerer was still more powerful than him by far. If he hadn't had his parents to think of, this might not have stopped him from running off half-cocked in some insane scheme for revenge. As it was, he knew he would need to find companions to help him defeat the sorcerer and make the land safe from innocents like his parents once more.
So the boy set out walking along a road through the forest, because everyone knew that the forest was a good place to meet interesting people. Mostly because it was easier to hide from people coming to arrest you amongst the trees, and interesting people had a habit of getting arrested because the king objected to their interestingness.
Eventually, the boy came across a swordswoman battling a fierce hydra. Every time she cut off one of its heads, it grew two more. Presumably she hadn't walked away and let it get on with its multicranial lizardy business because of the fair youth it had pinned menacingly under one foot."