Sphinges

When the  forces  of  good  won  the  decisive  victory  over  Morgoth  some  of  his  followers  escaped   the   vengeance   of   the   Valar   by  taking   refuge   in   the   heart   of   the   Great Desert. Over the centuries in the absence of  the    Dark Lord,    their    powers    gradually  declined,  to  the  point that  some  went out  of  the desert to live amongst men, playing their  tricks  on  occasion. According to  Haruze  legend some unknown wizards  discovered  these  and  then  imprisoned  them inside  statues, forced  to  guard  important  locations,  these    were    usually    called    sphinxes or  nehvaari, legend had it they asked riddles.

see:
 * [[Bottle
 * Djinn