Ary made her way back to Serinity after telling the man who was working which job she was taking on. Nome golems will be simple since they don't cause any harm to anyone, just a nuisance to deal with. They mostly just rearrange plants in gardens and nurture plants. But reaching the garden vegetables troubles them. The Nomes rarely let people into the garden they inhabit. So, at best, they are just annoying to deal with. Ary mounted Serinity and headed off to a town a few miles off from this one, where the problem was currently happening. Ary had a feeling this new place would have more than just this new job.
Along the way, Ary had asked travellers going from point A to B and found out all she could about her new job. Travellers mostly told her about a necromancer, but her job only involved some nomes. It didn't make sense why travellers mentioned a necromancer when Ary asked about her job in the area. Maybe they meant a mage causing trouble and got the two confused. It does happen every once in a while. But it still made her think back on how they reacted, like what she asked was idiotic, stupid, or absolutely reckless. Ary kept going by Serinity's back until she came across a village, but... it looked absolutely abandoned. Broken windows, buildings falling in on themselves, everything looked like an absolute mess here. Ary did not understand all this. Wasn't the job to do with someone dealing with nomes in their garden? Who lives in a place like this?
That's when loud thumps came close, the ground shaking. Ary and Serinity ran and hid in a fallen part of a shed, or what looks like one. Just ahead, the booming thumps came one after another. A shadow fell over the area where Ary was just standing. Of course. undead turned to giant nomes. Ary cursed at the person who put together that poster for not specifying the type of nomes that needed to be taken care of. Undead nomes are the definition of a mage's worst potential nightmare as a first creature opponent for a starting mage. Ary knew she, of all mages, was unprepared and beyond ready to face these things. To put it bluntly, undead nomes are practically lethal. Come together with the remains of bones from long-buried creatures. human or otherwise. They are stronger than ten men and can reform their bodies in an instant. They are nearly unstoppable. The longer they fight, the more they reform and change. You can't get ahead of them, no matter what you try or what you do. Magic or otherwise.
"What the hell?" Ary said in a hushed tone, holding her staff. The only spell she knew of that could do anything to the undead was life magic, the base of many healing spells. But she could barely heal the wound on Serinity's leg compared to the practiced hands of a well-practiced mage. Ary was in no way capable of using her magic to send a strike like a holy beam or a saint's hands spell to take down undead, but she could only get a scrape healed, and joints healed properly. She was stuck in this situation, and a deer that was just there had no visible way of fighting against them. Even with magic, no matter how strong, some undead nomes could absorb the magic of many elements, so she is, with no way of escaping, fucked.
Just ahead of Ary was someone walking with the undead nomes. She was wearing ordinary clothes for a young woman. Maybe eighteen, or early twenties. It was hard to tell from a distance. The woman was wearing a greenish-blue dress with a black shawl. Raven hair she braided over her right shoulder. As she turned, Ary saw her face: bright pale skin, almost ghostly, a faint pink blush on her cheeks, and bright, almost glowing pearl blue eyes... or, rather, right eye, the other was completely gone. Replaced by a huge gash scar. Her hair partly hid her scar. Ary felt her world stop in that moment. She couldn't tell if it was this woman's aura around, or her unique face, but Ary's heart wouldn't stop racing. It was like her heart was going to burst from inside her chest. Ary couldn't understand why.
This woman's expression wasn't angry or cold. She was... scared. Guarded. If she is the necromancer, then Ary has to figure out what to do with her and how to get her out of the situation by peaceful means. But if she is scared, then how the hell is Ary going to talk to her without her sending the undead nomes at Ary? Even if she did find a way to talk, wouldn't that girl use her power against Ary before saying a word? Ary ducked into cover. Serinity did the same. Ary tried to think of how to go up to the girl and say something to her. But she couldn't think of anything to say. Then she heard undead shrieks. Ary looked up and saw travelling adventurers attacking her and slaughtering the nomes. The woman looked terrified. Ary shot up without thinking and ran out. Not thinking. Just acting. Her staff in hand, she ran to the group of men, cornering the woman.