Aelis Siryasius

Aelis Siryasius is a drow half-elf in the Lower City Sewers during Act Three. He inhabits an area surrounded by Grease Elementals, Grease Mephits, and Greaseballs.

“

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

„

— Aelis Siryasius

Involvement

Act Three

Upon approaching Aelis's 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 that 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 down 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 that they stole from Gortash. This convinced her friends that she had been taken over by the Absolute, which led Bareki to decapitate her. Aelis burned her until only her skeleton remained. Aelis's 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)
• [DECEPTION] You need witnesses- I'm a witness. Just here to pay my respects. (DC 18)
• Attack

Upon failing any checks, Aelis attacks. Upon passing any of the checks, Aelis allows the party safe passage, and he cannot be spoken to again. If the party re-enter the sewers and approach Sarin's skeleton, Aelis becomes hostile.

Combat

Attacks and abilities

 Fireball ()

8d6 (8~48) Fire

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

AoE: 4 m / 13 ft (Radius)

 Fire Bolt ()

1d10 (1~10) Fire

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

AoE: 30 m / 100 ft (Radius)

 Scorching Ray ()

2d6 (2~12) Fire

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

 Range: 18 m / 60 ft

Allies

• Greaseball x7
• Grease Elemental x2
• Grease Mephit x9

Encounter details

Aelis will spam Fire damage spells at the party while using  Fly (class action) around the battlefield to get into better positions. The ground is covered in  Grease which can easily be ignited.

Some of his grease summons are so far away that they may not be close enough to join the fight right away.

All of the grease summons are vulnerable to Fire.

Tactics

Despite the numerous allies at his disposal, Aelis is not a particularly challenging fight. He is the only real threat and his own fire spells will ignite the  Grease and damage all his allies.

Fire damage spells such as  Scorching Ray,  Fireball, and  Wall of Fire can all decimate the grease summons due to their vulnerability, though Aelis himself has resistance to fire damage.

Aelis may be slightly 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.

Notable loot

• Cindermoth Cloak
• Quarterstaff +2

Related literature

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