Zombie

The Zombie is a drowned man got up out of the bog, his skin a sodden grey-green and his eyes gone milky, wandering Heretic's Mire in packs with the others that drowned beside him. Where the Mummy lies and waits, the Zombie is already on its feet, and it comes for a traveler the moment it sees one.

Behavior

A Zombie stands about the Mire with its pack until a traveler comes near. Then it lopes after them with a heavy, lurching stride, slower than a traveler can run but never far behind, and the rest of its pack come with it.

In reach it fights with its bare hands: a swipe across the body, or both arms brought down overhead in a blow that takes longer to come and lands harder. It is not steady on its feet, and a solid hit sends it reeling, which cuts short whatever it was about to do.

A Zombie does not follow far. Leave it behind and it turns back for the place it stood.

Location

The Zombie is found only in Heretic's Mire, in packs: the first among the bog pools past the portal, more on the causeway between the broken walls, among the barrows, and the largest in the ruined chapel at the far end.

Strategy

• A pack comes as one, so meet it where the walls and the trees narrow the way and only one or two can reach you at a time.
• Its stride is heavy but it keeps coming, so backing away buys a moment, not an escape. Turn and fight on ground of your choosing.
• Watch for both arms rising together: that is the overhead blow, and the time to step aside.
• A hard blow staggers it. Hit first and hit hard, and a Zombie that was winding up loses its swing.