Twisting, twirling, twinning, spiralling, wrapping stairs as far as the eye can stair, encompassing and dominating, enveloping and surrounding all that is around me. Covering all sight and far beyond, vertigo and giddiness sickening my mind as the urge to void my stomach takes over. Clenching shut my eyes I try to centre my thoughts and erase the all encompassing twisted mess of stairs that I just gazed up to and down into. The creaking of wood and the scrapping of stone mixing together within the vast tower of steps, the whistling of wind as it twines down the central space between each flight. Finding the urge to vomit having finally fade I yawn open my eyes and focus on only what is directly in front of me blurring what resides at the edges of my vision so I can hopefully retain my meal.
Sharp gaze focused on the stairs ahead it is only now that I notice how ornately carved and sculpted the stairs and rail are. And how wretched a condition they reside in now, the mortal beasts that graced the front part of the steps now shadow remnants. Spindles that once appeared as sinuous dragons and glorious phoenixes stand marred and shattered in places, their former splendour lost within the depths of the stairwell void. What few newel posts remain depict an intelligent humanoid creature now marred, scorched and blackened by arcane magic.
Taking in the ruinous remains around me as I ascend the stairs a feeing of ennui blooms within my chest. Not even a place as magnificent as this, one of wealth, splendour and mystical power could escape falling. Whoever and what ever resided within this twisted and amazing place could not stop their eventual and all encompassing demise. Whether fair or foul they fell to the machinations of those that either wanted what they had or wanted to remove a possible threat to their self.
Lost within my own pondering I don’t notice that I had come across the landing of this flight of stairs. Unnaturally out of place within this abode, the ruin and desecrations not applied in this place but the splendour and the magic also not fortifying this area. A simple, clear and clean stair way landing, one you would expect to see within any normal commoner residence. It is this simple and common thing that is so fair removed and out of place within this area that spark curiosity and even dulls the ennui.
Unbeknown to me, when I set foot on the final step and fully placed myself within the landing it had already started. Curious eyes trying to pick out any hint or runic magic that filled the tower, any stair or blemish upon the simple wood and stone of the stairs resulted in nothing be revealed to me. The more I gazed the simpler and more unassuming it seemed, and the more my mind denied the simpleness of it. Curiosity turned into an obsession so fast that I noticed how strange it was that I was interested in this landing. But the obsession took over, running my hand over the balustrades, scraping my knife against the wood and stone. Attempting to pry open any and ever seam within clear sight and those small worn aged cracks and pinnings. When my knife snapped I used my fingers and nails instead.
The simple landing, the clean and unblemished by what affected the rest of the tower landing was marred by myself. Blade marks, scrapes, splintered wood, broken blade fragments, fingernails, and blood soiled the area. Yet still I searched, still I investigated as the flesh from my fingers filled the gaps and cracks. My blood traced morbid lines over the ground and around the spindles as I spread my body and mind over the area. When I saw and heard my phalanges scuff at stone did I wrench the tiniest semblance of clear thought back into my mind. An overwhelming desire to investigate and find the reason for this landing to be so untouched still dominated my mind. Gladly though the remnants of my hands and knife had marred the area enough that the untouched landing was not as untouched as my mind believed. Fumbling my way to the closest stairs I collapse among the blemished and broken stairs.
