Zahnstadt is an isolated village in western Reikland. It is located deep in a high-walled valley, where the rolling hills of the Vorbergland give way to the mighty Grey Mountains. Zahnstadt is notable for the fact that, because of the high craggy valley walls on either side of the village, it receives only a few hours of sunlight in the summer and none at all in the winter.[1a]
Near the end of the Third Vampire War, the vampire Janos von Carstein deserted Mannfred von Carstein's armies. After fleeing the minions of his erstwhile master, he eventually came to Zahnstadt. Realizing that the village's lack of sunlight made it a perfect abode, he decided to go to ground. To this day, he sleeps in an ostentatious coffin beneath the village inn, the Wayward Sun. Each evening he rises to "hold court" in the inn, forcing the local peasants to sing cheerful folk tunes of his native Sylvania long into the night.[1a]
However, to the outsider, Zahnstadt merely appears to be a benighted village with garishly painted houses and inhabitants who display a forced happy demeanor and a penchant for singing obnoxiously cheerful songs.[1a]
Recently, both Witch Hunters and minions of the recently resurrected Mannfred von Carstein have become aware of Janos von Carstein's whereabouts. This puts him in a precarious position, and the village may soon be witness to a showdown between the three factions.[1a]