Downstairs. There might be torches on the way down, it seems like it would be appropriate for the tone.

[By tone Alucard means over dramatic. It was the one word he kept thinking over and over again in reading research beyond Leon's notes, and here, it was an asset.

The downstairs steps are too easily found. Alucard descends the first several, his hand tracing over the wall. Dirt gathers on his gloves, but more importantly, he does fined a torch. He takes it in hand, fiddles for a few moments, and it is lit. (God he misses Sypha.)]

It's steeper than it looks.