Once upon a time in a desolate hellscape far away, there lived a Fallen Demon called Pontis Incola who owned a magic bridge. He had large furry hands with six fingers each. On his back were large sharp spines that grew longer when he was angry. His teeth burst out from his gums like interlocking needles. When he shrieked and spat in anger, venomous spittle would fly all around him. His favourite trick was to cover his silvery claws in the venoms before he fought anything. Pontis was quite a scary looking creature that should be avoided if possible.
Pontis was a very grumpy Fallen Demon. He had no friends, he had no hobbies, he had no home. It was fair to say that he didn't have much. The one thing he did have was his magical bridge, under which he lived. Bridges aren't luxurious or comfortable. When it rained, the water would gather and drip down through the holes onto Pontis Incola's head. If the wind blew, it always took the time to blow extra hard and extra cold under Pontis' bridge. Needless to say it was a very miserable place to live, but to Pontis it was home.
He had discovered the bridge by chance when fleeing a powerful enemy and had hidden beneath it. Ever since he slept under it that night, he and the bridge were bonded. They would travel the dream realm together, appearing near gorges or rivers to provide a place to cross. The magical bond had some unusual effects on dear old Pontis though. Not only did he develop the ability to speak and read, he also developed a deep passion for Riddles...
One bright sunny day, when Pontis was patching up the holes in the bridge, some humans came walking down the path towards him. Pontis, being a cunning creature, hid under his bridge to find out how powerful these newcomers were before acting. He listened to them talking as they approached his home.
"This could be a game changer for trading with other citadels" came a squeaky voice. In fairness, all humans sounded squeaky to Pontis. Especially the younger ones, but he didn't much like eating them as they were mostly skin and bone. Pontis avoided humans when possible, some of them had very unusual powers and could summon weapons from thin air.
"...isn't anyone concerned that a very convenient bridge has conveniently appeared in a convenient location at a convenient time?" squeaked the second human.
"Gosh! Why are you always so paranoid? Opportune! An opportune bridge has appeared at a most opportune moment!" replied the first in a cheery little squeak.
Pontis couldn't help be annoyed at the positive outlook of the little human. Didn't the fool realise the Dream World was full of hidden danger? If he wasn't careful he could come across something great and terrible that would eat him. Pontis shook his head in despair at the naive poor human. He spent some time thinking these things before Pontis realised that he himself was something great and terrible and should be doing the eating rather than the thinking. Leaping onto the bridge from below, he roared and bared his teeth. Alas, Pontis had spent to much time thinking and there were no humans left on his bridge. Cursing himself for not paying attention, he climbed back down under the bridge. At least they hadn't crossed the bridge. Pontis would have known if they had, because the bridge usually made him do some silly things to stop this...
Later that day another group of humans approached his bridge. Behind the humans were carts and wagons. Pontis knew his moment had come. Humans, for some reason, put wheels on their wagons instead of wings. This meant they wouldn't be able to cross this gorge without using his bridge. Pontis felt this was an obvious design flaw but wouldn't tell the humans this.
Leaping onto the bridge, he let out his most ferocious roar. The human caravan came to an immediate halt. Grinning and pleased with himself, Pontis waited for his first victim to approach.
The humans whispered to each other while Pontis waited in the middle of the bridge. Pontis' hearing wasn't as good as one might expect of a creature as powerful as he. All he could manage was to catch a few phrases between the group.
