Aelis Siryasius

Not to be confused with Aelis (Fist Recruit)

Aelis Siryasius can be found in the Lower City Sewers of Baldur's Gate during Act Three.

“

This is Sarin's final resting place- and a killing ground for all who would disturb her.

„

— Aelis Siryasius

Involvement

Act Three

Aelis Siryasius inhabits an area surrounded by Grease Elementals, Grease Mephits, and Greaseballs. Upon approaching Aelis' grease summons, he warns the party to halt and accuses them of working with the Cult of the Absolute. Over the course of a rambling speech, he reveals he was one of the "three finest thieves in Baldur's Gate" alongside  Bareki and  Sarin before the trio broke into  Enver Gortash's office. In doing so, they discovered the secret plot of The Absolute and were hunted by Absolutists until they fled into the sewers. They became increasingly paranoid until Sarin believed that Aelis and Bareki "had gone strange" and hid the treasure they stole from Gortash. Convinced she was taken over by the Absolute, Bareki decapitated her and Aelis burned her until only her skeleton remained. Aelis' account of what happened to Sarin hints that Bareki has  Sarin's Skull.

Throughout the conversation, Aelis repeatedly addresses a nearby  Grease Elemental as 'his cousin' and pauses as if he can hear it speaking. He eventually reveals that he summoned his elementals to bear witness to Sarin's funeral and act as fuel for the fire.

This conversation eventually leads to several dialogue options:

• [INTIMIDATION] Your paranoia already killed Sarin. Are you so keen to follow her? (DC 18)
• [PERSUASION] I'm not a cultist. And I don't think your friend was, either. Your paranoia turned you against one another. (DC 18)
• [PERSUASION] If you're a thief, then you answer to Nine-Fingers. We're allies. (DC 18) (If siding with  Nine-Fingers Keene during ⁠Aid the Underduke)
• [DECEPTION] You need witnesses- I'm a witness. Just here to pay my respects. (DC 18)
• Attack

If failing any checks, Aelis attacks. If passing any of the checks, Aelis allows the party safe passage, and he cannot be spoken to again. Talking him and his allies out of fighting earns the party 3340 experience. If re-entering the sewers and approaching Sarin's skeleton, Aelis becomes hostile.

Combat

Attacks and abilities

 Fireball ( + )

Damage: 8~48

8d6⁠Fire

Shoot a bright flame from your fingers that explodes upon contact, torching everything in the vicinity for 8d6Fire damage.

 DEX Save

 Range: 18 m / 60 ft

 Fire Bolt ()

Damage: 1~10

1d10⁠Fire

Hurl a mote of fire.

 Range: 18 m / 60 ft

 Fly ()

Fly to a target position

 Range: 18 m / 60 ft

 Invigorating Flame ( + )

Ignite the corpses of nearby grease elementals with revitalising flame, resurrecting them as lava elementals to fight beside you.

 Range: 18 m / 60 ft

 Main Hand Attack ()   –   Quarterstaff +2

Damage: 3~8

1d6 + 2⁠Bludgeoning

Make a melee attack with your equipped weapon.

 Melee: 1.5 m / 5 ft

 Scorching Ray ( + )

Damage: 6~36

2d6⁠Fire

+ 2d6⁠Fire

+ 2d6⁠Fire

Hurl 3 rays of fire. Each ray deals 2d6Fire damage.

 Range: 18 m / 60 ft

 Topple ()   –   Quarterstaff +2

Damage: 1~4

1d4⁠Bludgeoning

Swipe at a creature to knock it Prone.

 DEX Save

 Range: Normal weapon range

 Recharge: Short rest

Allies

•  Greaseball x7
•  Grease Elemental x2
•  Grease Mephit x9

Encounter details

Aelis can cast ⁠Fire damage spells igniting the ground which is covered in  Grease. He also can use  Fly to reach better positions on the battle field.

On balanced difficulty, Aelis summons numerous  Mephits, who can cast  Heat Metal. The Mephits are summoned out of sight and can fly, allowing them to rapidly reach the party, where they cause an explosion of AOE fire damage when killed. However, some of his grease summons are far enough away that they cannot immediately join the fight. All of the grease summons are vulnerable to fire.

Tactics

Fire damage spells such as  Scorching Ray,  Fireball, and  Wall of Fire ignite the  Grease and damage all his allies, decimating the grease summons due to their fire vulnerability, though Aelis himself has resistance to fire damage.

Initiating combat with a summoned  Fire Elemental causes the grease to ignite (removing the slip hazard and applying incidental burning damage), and appears to draw most of the aggression onto the Fire Elemental; Aelis focuses on flying around and attacking the Fire Elemental.

Aelis may be difficult to approach due to the grease on the ground, his many allies, and his ability to  Fly (class action) away from threats. Using spells like  Misty Step,  Dimension Door, or  Grant Flight can make it easier to reach him.

Loot

•  Cindermoth Cloak
•  Quarterstaff +2

Related literature

•  Capture Orders
•  Incomplete Journal
•  Scorched Book
•  Stained Journal Fragment
•  Torn Journal Fragment

Speak with Dead

Aelis Siryasius can be spoken to with  Speak with Dead.

• Who are you?

  • Aelis Siryasius

    Aeris... the Turnkey Three...

    • The 'Turnkey Three'? What's that?

      • Aelis Siryasius

        Sarin... Bareki... me... no better... thieves...

        • What happened to Bareki?

          • Aelis Siryasius

            Said I lost... my mind... then lost... his voice...

• What happened here?

  • Aelis Siryasius

    Cult... took Sarin's mind... so we... took her head...

    • Did Sarin have a parasite in her head? A tadpole?

      • Aelis Siryasius

        *The corpse remains silent. It does not know.*

• What were you doing down here?

  • Aelis Siryasius

    Hiding... loot... from cult...

    • Where is this loot now?

      • Aelis Siryasius

        Sarin... paranoid... hid it... away...