Shambling Fungus (World Guide, Monster) (Patreon)

The MMU Naked Spelunking Club's Peril Play video event is in full swing and little leopardess Nika thinks she's got a good chance to take home the bacon by feeding herself to a shambling fungus she found in an old mine just north of Kima. 

The creatures are an extremely rare result of three separate types of fungus meeting in a very specific order. Spores of the squishy layered bodai fungus must land and grow atop a large enough collection of water-frond fungi who's subterranean poll habitat is shallow enough for them to reach the top of the water. Then, the filament-like cave-web fungus must come into contact, and grow into the mass. When the cave-web filaments first produce a crop of tiny caps, the combined fungal collection becomes animate.

While each of the aforementioned fungi are totally harmless, the result of their combination is far from. It is attracted to sources of heat within the normal body temperature range of humanoid sized mammals, and will attempt to press itself against them if given the opportunity. Its flesh is highly adhesive, and it will attempt to surround a snared victim, pulling them completely into its body before completely dissolving them. The trapped victim generally survives between three and six days owing to the specific nature of the process, while complete dissolution takes up to a month.

The shambling fungus has several properties that make its prey more amicable to being consumed. Its spores are very relaxing, and spending more than a few minutes close to the creature will leave the subject feeling quite at ease, with a body that feels a bit weak and wobbly. The manner in which the fungus dissolved its victim's body is completely painless, discouraging the victim from using whatever strength they have felt to harm the fungus, or to summon help. The process is often described as a long descent into dreamy, sleepy, diminishing awareness, ending in a sudden nothing.

Shambling fungus are so rare than any reported sighting brings biologists running by the dozens. Despite numerous attempts, scientists have been unable to create an example in the lab.