Crumbling Stair

The Crumbling Stair was the remnant of a mansion named the House of Taeros that was built in the Forlorn Hills in the days of Phalorm (the Realm of Three Crowns) and the kingdom of Delimbiyran in the 6–century DR. It was a grand circular staircase of which only six steps remained above ground, held aloft by magic, after the mansion was destroyed in a wizard battle twenty-some years after it was built. The Stair continued below ground to what used to be the main floor of a grand hall and then to a set of partially collapsed cellars. The site was haunted by at least two phantoms of the past.

Location
The House of Taeros was built on an arcing ridge in what was then known as the Dark Hills of Dardath, part of the Realm of Three Crowns in the region known as Loravatha. Geographically, it was in the heart of the hills, due west from Uluvin and east-northeast from the House of Stone on the edge of Ardeep Forest. The nearest road was the Iron Road that skirted the northern edge of the hills. To the south was the Delimbiyr Route and the River Delimbiyr.

Structure
The Crumbling Stair was constructed of slabs of white marble that had veins of a green mineral running through it. Six of these slabs hovered above ground level and formed a circular staircase rising to nowhere.

Interior
The Stair descended below ground a few steps before branching off to what used to be the central hall of the mansion, collapsed into rubble and overgrown with scrub vegetation. The Stair continued down one flight and ended in a long corridor with a few doors to individual cellar rooms. The walls and ceilings were decaying and unstable and had fallen down in some places, including the end of the hall, blocking off or burying a larger number of rooms.

Atmosphere
Many adventurers who managed to set foot in the cellars reported finding slime trails on various surfaces (ceilings, walls, and floors) and meeting apparitions in various forms. The most striking vision reported was of an elven female dressed in an elegant gown, wrapped in chains, and soundlessly screaming and begging for release. Also seen were an outstretched human hand holding a fist full of gems (either stationary or swarming above the open palm), and a human wearing a cowl, gesturing with sword, and seemingly trying to communicate movement in a direction.

Opening one particular door in the cellar sometimes revealed a ghostly vision of a young, barefoot human woman, eyes closed, floating above the floor as if in meditation. Witnesses reported that the apparition opened its eyes, gave an ear-splitting scream, and then rushed toward them, only to dissipate when she reached the hall. Persons in the path of her rush to escape experienced a random barrage of effects akin to wild magic as she passed through them.

Defenses
For as long as anyone can remember, people making camp or passersby that got too close to the Crumbling Stair were often attacked by the ghostly figure of a knight, or his sword, or just his war helm. The glowing, flickering apparition was not a real ghost because its touch did no physical harm, just imparted feelings of extreme cold and utter exhaustion. However, there were reports of some deaths after an encounter with this phantom, perhaps due to fright or fleeing into the dark wilderness.

As of the, a will-o'-wisp was frequently seen floating around the Stair.