Shamblers.

Infected and mutated by the poisonous fungal spores, these corpses are controlled by an intelligent fugus acting as a means of transportation, defence and further propagation. Barely recognisable as humanoid anymore, these horrific facsimile of life stumble out of the fungus forest, acting on fragments of their former memories to spread the blight further.

Throughout the sea of spores, the trundling march of the mycelium nightmare can be heard all around, carrying colonies rich with the deadly blight to new pastures.

Desecrated husks of countless unfortunate souls that have succumbed to the Sea of Spores toxic environment. Poisoned and choked to death as the spores polluted their lungs or driven half mad by the miasma that led to them falling afoul. The truly unfortunate are those that do not suffer the mercy of a quick death, instead damned to a purgatorial nightmare like existence as they slowly ebb and fade away for weeks on end. Eventually the deadly fungus kills its victims, taking hold of the host and forcing them like a automaton. These animations are terrifying to outsiders, manipulating the bodies in a horrific facsimile of life, staggering forward as they release more of their potent spores that spread the Sea further, taking root in the bodies of defeated foes or those who too succumbed to the miasma, allowing more Shamblers to rise.
While these walking colonies are fungus and are commonly mistaken for undead, they are more like a shell, held together by the mycelium that have now claimed the corpse as their own. Fungal fruit bursting from the victim and their tissues and internal organs invaded with mycelium. For centuries it has been believed that the blight that spread the sea of spores was also responsible for corpses becoming abhorrent fungal nightmares. The truth behind these walking monstrosities is that the fungus that infects its host is only part of the reason.
Carried deep within the dead host lies the terrible secret behind the automatons. Each one of the shambles is inhabited by colonies of parasitic insects called, ??; a type of mosquito that exhibits natural immunity to the spores. Capable of sensing those that have succumbed to the influence of the miasma, the female mosquito will either pierce it's victim and crawl inside or wait for the host to be close to death. Becoming a host for the scourge, the moist fungus inside becomes the perfect environment for hatching their eggs and nurseries for the young larva. Unlike other mosquitos, ?? remain in large colonies. The mosquitos have a symbiotic relationship with the mycelium slowly ravaging the body. Acting as a catalyst, carrying spores on their exoskeletons deeper and deeper into the body accelerating its growth as they begin to establish their nests.
It is unclear whether the spores or the insects are directly responsible for piloting these rancid vessels. Whether the will of a greater mycelium intelligence or the will of the swarm. The remnants of the host's mind influence the colony’s decisions as they seek out figures or places from their shattered memories. Becoming little more than shambling terrors, lashing out at those who have not been infected by the sea, wishing to spread their taint onto them. A number of these fungus zombies have been known to become the dreaded Blight Wort succumbing to the colossal fungal growths polluting the shambler.

Fungal Zombie by Ean Moody

Current location

The Sea of Spores.