Memory:Black hurthling

He has spent far too long dwelling in deep caves where right-thinking hurthlings do not belong, and is a corrupted parody of the hurthling race. He is short and ugly, with greyish, hairless skin. Even his toes are hairless! "Have you seen my ... birthday present?", he whines, and then he giggles to himself. Don't turn your back on him. This looks like a normal hurthling, but the hair is less curly and the grin is more surly. It is rumored that every now and then an evil force penetrates the peace of a hurthling community and infects a young hurthling, encouraging it to spend more time underground and away from the light. Eventually the afflicted hurthling stays away from the sun, seeking for something to fill the emptiness left without a community. Every once and again, a young hurthling will become curious and set out to see some of the world. Most come back after a day's walk and never leave their village again, but some venture into the underground and are attracted by the wealth and power of the dark elven realm. Even of those most will be repelled by the evil that reigns below the earth, but for ages there have been hurthlings living on the fringes of the dark realm, raising a breed that perverts all the distinct features of the real hurthlings: their feet are weak and soft, they have hardly any hair, and what remains turned pale or white, while their skin is ebony black. Even their souls have been perverted, and most of them are outright mad, searching for a fabled ring that is rumoured to give power over those walking in the light.