I'm currently in a quest where I'm following an NPC after he unlocked a door in the mage's college and is now walking up the stairs. Well, at least he's attempting to but he's not getting anywhere. He's actually just walking into the stairs and remaining on the same step.

This is happening all over now - all NPCs simply walk into stairs, not up them.

I distinctly remember a few days ago when I was walking up stairs and it seemed to be a different animation than in Oblivion, and I actually thought to myself, "cool, it looks more realistic". But now even my character walks into stairs instead of up them.

Is there really a new animation that somehow stopped working? Or am I just going crazy?

Also, how do I get the mage that I'm following to proceed up the stairs in the current quest?

Thanks.