The Sphinx is an NPC in Act 2 of Torchlight II.
A giant, statue-like being, it guards the entry to the Forsaken Vaults in the Ossean Wastes. The player must contact it as part of the main quest The Eve of War, upon which it answers in riddles:
- The Mana Queen has come and gone,
- through this gate, she journeyed on.
- Follow her and pay the cost.
- Hasten forth, or she'll be lost
- My ancient charge, to guard the gate
- The desert sands to contemplate.
- In Stygian realms lurks beast of yore
- Part drake, part lion: Manticore.
- Lay its skin before my eyes,
- And passage through shall be your prize.
The player thus receives the quest Lair of the Manticore, which must be completed before the Sphinx gives the way into the Vaults free.