The CRAAAFT is a twelve part series with each mission being sent out once a year in the same month. This is our yearly schedule:
January: Anansi – Africa
The Spider God Anansi has taken all the stories of the land to keep for himself. Anansi is difficult to bargain with, but as he is a deal maker and a trickster, he has struck a deal with us. He has given us a series of stories that are incomplete and in order to unlock them, we must complete the tasks he has set before us. If you are able to solve the puzzles and mysteries before you, you will be given the end of each tale and all new stories will once again be free to be told.
February: Dearg Due – Ireland
We are receiving reports regarding some current violence in Ghiolcach Fenoagh, County Waterford, Ireland. It seems that a series of young men have been going missing or falling mysteriously ill after being lured from their beds with strange music late at night. Several men have been found murdered with all blood drained from them, making us suspect that we are seeing a return of the dreaded Dearg Due, or Red Thirst, to the area. Can you help find the creature and lay it to rest?
March: Anubis- Egypt
Help clean up this old case file from field work on the west bank of the Nile at the Saqqara Necropolis. Our director of Ancient Artifacts, Professor Yardley left our employ suddenly while investigating some strange symbols found there and we are unable to access his final report. Sift through his notes and help us find his password to unlock his discoveries.
April: Curses – Various
Unfortunately, it seems that our Curse Collection was poorly mishandled several years ago when we contracted a service to move the entire collection to a new facility outside Mercury, NV. We have a local team working diligently to organize the collection in our new space, but we have come to discover that there have been gaps in our normally rigorous categorization process. As a consequence, we have boxes of mismatched notes, partial reports and other odds and ends to unravel. As always, please follow all applicable safety protocols and remember to cast reversal spells on any curses that you might speak aloud.
May: Divination – Various
The estate of Mme. Marie Anne Lenormand, the renowned divinator, has recently been made available for sale and it has been our good fortune to have secured it in a recent auction. From our cursory review in cataloguing the items, it seems Mme. Lenormand was doing rather extensive research into several well respected divinators that preceded her in an attempt to unravel some mysterious information she had received through her work. Please review these items to see if you are able to uncover the message that Mme. Lenormand had for humankind.
June: Bunyip – Australia
Enclosed you will find a packet of documents that you will need to investigate a disturbing set of circumstances in the Northern Territory of Australia. We received information regarding the disappearance of several boys from a small village of Ambluduwich over the course of the past two months. It is believed by the people of the village that the boys have been taken by the Bunyip, a dark, feathered creature with long arms and enormous claws. Can you help us find and save these boys?
July: Trouble at Hitogisune Corporation – Japan
Our offices have been contacted by the Hitogisune Corporation in Kyoto, Japan regarding some unusual activity that has been occurring at the organizations’ facility that houses the main headquarters, a research and development lab and a small storage facility. The food and snack manufacturer has been recently plagued by minor theft, vandalism and strange behavior of various staff members. We suspect that these issues plaguing the organization may be related to some sort of trickster being, but we must determine the specific entity in order to make the most appropriate recommendations for mitigation. We need you to join our investigative team, already on site interviewing staff and gathering data regarding recent unusual events, and help interpret their findings.
August: Maple Hill Mystery – Native American
We are sending you a request to assist us in an urgent matter. We have a research team in the Great Lakes area of North America that we have lost contact with and need to locate. The team was researching a series of rumors surrounding the disappearance of a survey crew on site for a potential fracking operation. The local police did a wellness check at the hotel that served as our team’s base of operation, but found the rooms empty except for some various notes and items. These notes have been encrypted by the team, presumably to keep the fracking company representatives from discovering what their research uncovered. You have rooms waiting at the Maple Hill Inn. We are concerned for our team’s safety and time is of the essence.
September: Preta – Tibet
We have received a request from the Zoshi Buddhist Temple in Tibet for assistance in a troubling situation. The monks advised us that the temple is overrun with Preta (hungry ghosts). These ghosts sinned in life and have returned to the earth as part of the Preta realm, where they must suffer until their negative karma created through sin is used up. Normally, this is not problematic, as the monks care for the ghosts for as long as they remain, but these pitiable creatures have become confused and cannot find the sustenance they crave. We need you to help decipher the mysterious messages and piece together all the clues to get the Preta the right food and help the monks ease their suffering until they can be reborn.
October: Baba Yaga – Russia
We have received an urgent request from the Yurtaev family in the Altai Mountains in Russia to assist them in locating their missing daughter. We initially thought this a matter for the police and referred them to the local authorities, but at their urging, we conducted a video chat interview. The mother Lyudmila is convinced that a witch dwelling in the woods outside their village of Askat has abducted the girl and is holding her captive. Please proceed to the town and help us unravel this mystery.
November Secrets in Stronsay – Scotland
You will travel to the Orkney Islands in Scotland. Your contact is a local priest, Father Finley who has been mediating a dispute between several of his parishioners, Fergus Kerr, his wife Roinna and their neighbor Dougal Graeme, the last of the usual residents on the island of Papa Stronsay. Mr. Kerr is convinced that his wife is bewitched and that Dougal Graeme is the cause. We await your report on what has transpired.
December: The Holly King –Scandinavia
As the year comes to a close, we have been made aware of a situation that you are uniquely qualified to help us address. It seems that the transition to a new year is being thwarted by the Holly King, king of the waning year. He has become offended and refuses to relinquish his hold on the sun to the Oak King so we may begin our journey into the New Year. The Holly King feels that the old ways have not been honored this year, and refuses to allow the days to begin to grow longer until he can be appeased. The Holly King joined us at the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. Since that day, the Holly King has ruled over the ever shortening days and lengthening nights. If he does not step aside to allow the Oak King his reign, the days will continue to shorten until, without the sun, we will be plunged into everlasting darkness and cold. Help us solve the mysteries and remember how and why we honor the return of the sun.