So much for the scrying dominion, eh?
There are some nasty surprises in the indie provinces from time to time, but I have so far not encountered anything of this magnitude. It mostly boils down to a few unexpected summons that some mage commanders have as bodyguards, such as dark vines or Jotun giants. Orania has some nasty indies, but I think those are scripted (e.g. victory point provinces, and some other with winter wolves etc.)