"Prophecy..." Dereno said, and sighed, nodding to the woman. "Prophecy has ever cursed my people. But, the last time it was not properly heeded... you need not worry. I will heed your words, lady."

Dereno closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. Despite the danger, the mist-heavy air smelled good. Refreshing. It was ever such when your life was on the line - was it not? Air itself became sweet, and every moment was hyper-accentuated. 

Dereno held his staff out, turning it sideways. He gripped it with his other hand, then drew it through his fingers, as if the thing were a sheathe and he was removing a blade. Sweat began to form on his brow as he did so, his arms shaking with exertion. Then, he opened his eyes, and let out a focusing shout, drawing the staff through his hand all the way with a huge flourish.

The mist around Dereno blew away, his robes fluttering behind him as if blown by gale force winds. His staff was gone. Instead, in the hand that hand mimicked the draw of a sword, he held a weapon of terrible power. A bound daedric blade, almost as tall as he was, with a blade as black as midnight and as reflective as a mirror. Throughout the blade, ugly red veins pulsed with abhorrent life, and an eye inset into the hilt. A mouth near the end of the sword chittered with hungry anticipation. 

The blade's name was Ekresh-Nar, and it hungered. It was the blade Dereno had always summoned, and it hungered for battle. Dereno whispered to the blade in Dunmerish, soothing it, preparing it for bloodletting. He nodded to the newly arrived woman with moon-white hair, sure in his own purpose and his resolve.

"Mastdar Dereno, Wizard of House Telvanni." He said, by way of introduction to the new woman, and his erstwhile companions. He smiled, his face crinkling into a quagmire of wrinkles. "Tonight, it seems, I will spend my time swatting bloodsuckers."