A Forlorn raised in the haunted country of Ustalav, the elf known as Dusfingers was an urchin that grew up in Ravengro by a village's gravedigger, a haf-orc whose name was Dampay, Dampay the Brown.
The gravedigger was a good father to the elf child, but both were outsiders and thus considered outcasts. Dustfingers suffered from bullies, but Dampay comforted the elf by reminding him he will outlife his tormentors, often whilst burying a corpse together.
However, a band of older boys caught Dustfingers by himself and,
calling him a walking corpse - due to his gaunt appearance - buried him alive. The elf almost died that day, but as his breath began to expire Dampay dug his charge up, digging with his bare hands - now ending in bony claws.
Dampay revealed himself as a ghoul and admitted to feeding on the corpses of the town; he also admitted that when times were hard he fed Dustfingers with rotten flesh as well. Horrified, Dustfingers lashed out at his provider with his own shovel. Killing the ghoul, the shovel's head broke off buried in the gravedigger's chest. Knowing the town would accuse him of murder, the elf wrapped himself in Dampay's heavy coat and, using the shovel's handle as a staff, fled into the darkness as rain began to fall.
Praying to Pharasma, a goddess Dampay worshipped and taught to his elven charge, Dustfingers begged for forgiveness. However, the goddess of birth and death did not respond, leaving a chilling void in the boy's chest, one that began to hunger. He wanders even still, earning food and shelter by doing odd work, skilled in the art of digging holes, wells, trenches, and graves.
