The appearance of an Ingi Neuric certainly stood out. Yonnis was of a race that the surface people did not know existed, so he of course faced troubles when he first tried to enter society.
Luckily, between him and Gwin, he was the smart one. He stayed hidden and took note of how society worked on the surface, learning the many influences and races that people adored before making any moves openly.
It seemed the easiest thing was to disguise himself as a dwarf. By saying that he was from a unique species that was born inside an active volcano in a faraway land, he was able to quell most suspicions about his origins.
The surface world was different from the subterranean world in many ways. The most striking difference was the level of intelligence that the average person had.