Fiction: Story Idea?

I remember Dad telling me stories that he toyed with fleshing out and writing - I wonder if there is enough there to put something together?

• Setting, Purgatory/Limbo, entrance to the Underworld 

     In mythology /ancient times- the dead would go to the afterlife (hell and/or heaven) across the river Styx, there was a boat and the boatman (Charon) demanded a fee or toll to get the souls across the river. In the days after the ancient times, the population had increased, and the number of the dead was too great for Charon to handle. Something needed to be done to deal with the traffic jam. It was decided that a bridge would be constructed. The massive construction project lead to a town being built for the builders of the bridge and their families. The town became the last stop the recently departed would go to before crossing the bridge, sometimes they would need to earn some money to pay the toll to cross the bridge. (What kind a job would a recently departed soul do? )

Some of the frontier outside of town began to be developed to support the town. Some among the living started settling in the town and the surrounding frontier

Squabbles frequently erupt between bands of bandits, villagers, settlers in the frontier, other groups etc.

• Protagonist: (nameless so far)

     His parents are residents of town (or a farm outside?) low level soldier of some kind (mercenary? recruit?) not particularly skilled, not remarkable in most any way. Young adult. not wealthy.  Left home to seek his fortune- he isn't a loser but he's starting from the bottom (how much closer to the bottom can you get? - entry level position in the dead end town outside of the last circle of hell - no place to go but up.

• Situation:

     Either while scavenging a battlefield or during a battle, he comes across a small stature (or icon, or talisman). The stature is of  a woman and is in not great condition - it is chipped and muddy and covered with whatever is mixed in the mud of a battlefield. Our protagonist cleans up his find, he thinks the woman depicted is pretty so he treasures it - keeps it in his pocket or whatever. He's on his own so he starts talking to her (actually talking to himself). He calls her "my lady" and just chats, never asks her for anything. Unbeknownst to our hero, the icon is of the goddess of Luck (Fortuna if Roman some other name if some other Mythos) Due to the locations/setting of the story she actually dwells in the icon/statue. In all of her memory no one has spoken to her and not asked for her blessing. No one has had a conversation with her not driven by desperation, or greed, or envy. No one has looked upon her image and just thought she was pretty and didn't see her as a tool to be used.  She is charmed by the young man and decides to bestow her blessings upon him.

note: Lady Luck is fickle, there should be a scene where she withdraws her blessings from the previous holder of the Icon for some reason - He asked for too much, took her for granted or something- there has to be a reason that someone had such BAD LUCK to die on that battlefield and drop the icon.

through the course of the story, the hero works his way up through the ranks, nearly escapes death several times, defeats enemies in unlikely ways, is lucky at gambling, and gets lucky with women way out of his league. Eventually he discovers that his "lady" is lady luck. He doesn't change the way he speaks with her, nor does he ask for her blessings, but he is plagued by self doubt.  Are all of his accomplishments because of his own grit, determination, and abilities or is he merely lucky?

I can imagine several episodes /adventures. Each should have some seemingly unobtainable goal which he should conquer in an unlikely way. He should have several companions, a few should be ghosts trying to earn tolls to to cross the bridge to the afterlife. There should be several romantic entanglements

I don't want the story to be a quest to save the world, with the hero as "the chosen one" - I want him to be a bumbler, hard working, clumsy, perhaps shy.

anyway thats enough for getting the ideas out of my head