Perilous Parable of the Peculiar Painting

**Perilous Parable of the Peculiar Painting** is one of many playable Mysteries that must be solved in order to bring the player closer to defeating the Old God of their playthrough.

This mystery is at a new separate location from the town, Ichiro-san’s mansion. The mansion has six locations that mostly open up as you go along. There is no option to rest or access your storage in this area. The game will tell you which location will advance the mystery, but it’s not always best to follow it.

## Introduction

*"A damp-looking letter addressed to you arrived this morning.*

*MAMIYA ICHIRO, a famous painter you were once a huge fan of, has replied to a message you sent him last summer.*

*He thanked you for the letter and invited you to his mansion.*

*You were going to witness the creation of his ‘true masterpiece‘, he wrote.*

*Just how could you decline?…"*

## Mystery Progression

### **Before Meeting EIMI:**

*“You’ve finally arrived at the mansion’s gate. You are afraid you will never be able to remove the lingering musty smell of wetlands from your clothes.”*

On the first turn you can only explore the Mansion Foyer, after that the Forest location will open up.

*“While walking through the empty mansion you can hear something rustling in the bushes behind the building…”*

After the first time investigating the Forest, you will meet EIMI who will be at certain locations but you can easily lose track of. You will know she’s at a location by seeing a sprite of her chibi character’s head and the location saying “EIMI is Here” when you hover over it.

*“Crouching next to a moss-covered stone is a woman.*

*<<Hello?…>>*

*<<Are you here for ICHIRO-san’s showcase of the newest painting?>>*

*<<…ah, where are my manners? My name is EIMI and I’m a curator working for the art gallery in SHIOKAWA>>*

*EIMI smiles.*

*<<ICHIRO-san is somewhere in the mansion, I’m sure.>>*

*<<I’d help you look for him but I want to catalog \_these\_>> she says pointing at the rock.*

*<<The ritualistic marking are unique to this region, I’ve been told…>>”*

### **After Meeting EIMI:**

After meeting EIMI you are also able to investigate the Painting Studio. However going back to the Mansion Foyer will advance the mystery. It seems if you go to the Painting Studio more than once you will lose track of EIMI. Whether you choose to investigate the Forest one more time, where EIMI currently is, or investigate the Mansion Foyer, EIMI will be at the Mansion Foyer on the next turn as long as you haven’t lost track of her.

After you investigate the Mansion Foyer after meeting EIMI you will be able to now choose from three previous locations plus Boarded-Up Building and Workshed.

*“There are countless paintings hanged on the walls of this mansion. All of them show alien landscapes and weird humanoids dancing around in circles. You don’t recognize any of them but the technique used is unmistakable.*

*ICHIRO-san painted these.”*

EIMI will be at the Mansion Foyer for two more turns. If you want her to move to her next location, you must investigate Mansion Foyer twice while she is there. After investigating the Mansion Foyer twice while EIMI is there, she will move to Boarded-Up Building and you will need to investigate that location once with her there before she moves to her final location, Private Rooms.

You can go to the Workshed once while EIMI is at the Mansion Foyer or Boarded-Up Building but should return to her location on the next turn if you wish to keep track of her, the location will disappear if you investigate Boarded-Up Building at any time.

If you enter the Workshed you will get the event The Dark Workshed.

*“At some distance from the main building there’s an old workshed. Even though the surrounding is now overgrown, in its heyday, it must’ve been used to store the gardening equipment.*

*Inside, it’s really dark and you don’t have the time to search this place closely”*

If you have your own light source you will be given two options:

“grab a flashlight” or “use your own light source”

Using your own light source will get you CHAINSAW (NO FUEL).

Either way the location will be destroyed after.

If you chose “grab a flashlight”:

*“You find a tool kit by the door. Flashlight seems like the best choice but a sudden crash coming from the mansion prevents you from investigating the workshed. (+ITEM)”*

If you chose “use your own light source”:

*“Using your flashlight you manage to get a better look inside. In the corner you find something \_really\_ promising. (+ITEM)”*

After investigating either Boarded-Up Building or Workshed, you will be able to enter Private Rooms.

*“Finally, you find a key in one of the desk drawers. You head towards the Private rooms, hoping to find the painter himself.”*

### **If you enter the Private Rooms before EIMI or after losing track of her (Ending C):**

*“Every visible surface of the room you enter is covered in obscene paintings and grotesque monster faces. In the middle of the room, you spot ICHIRO-san, repeatedly stabbing EIMI and splattering her blood over an empty canvas. ICHIRO-san smiles when he notices you.*

*<Ah! My biggest fan! I can’t let you know my secret!”*

You will need to fight ICHIRO-san.

*“The mad painter slowly takes off his dark glasses…”*

After defeating him, you will receive Ending C.

### **If you enter Private Rooms while EIMI is there (Ending A or B):**

After investigating, ICHIRO-san will ask you to go wait at the Mansion Foyer.

*“You must grab EIMI who almost faints at the sight of the room you both enter.*

*Every visible surface is covered in obscene paintings and grotesque monster faces.*

*ICHIRO-san sits alone in front of an empty canvas.*

*ICHIRO-san smiles when he notices you two. <Ah! My biggest fan and miss EIMI is here!>>*

*He stands up and comes closer, looking at you from behind his dark glasses. <<Would you please be kind and wait at the foyer? I need miss EIMI to help me with the latest painting…>>*

*EIMI looks at you surprised but doesn’t say anything.”*

The next turn you can only either investigate the Mansion Foyer or Private Rooms.

### **If you investigate the Private Rooms again (Ending A):**

*“No! You can’t leave EIMI with that creepy man, no matter how famous he is!*

*You quickly go back to the room and gasp! ICHIRO-san prepares to stab unconscious EIMI!*

*ICHIRO-san looks at you and smiles.*

*<<You can’t stop me work now…>>”*

You will have a battle, not against ICHIRO-san but…

*“The painted monster reaches from the canvas and grabs surprised ICHIRO-san by his neck.*

*<<N-no! T-this is n-not what was s-supposed to happen!>>”*

You will need to fight The Painting.

After defeating The Painting, you’ll receive Ending A.

### **If you investigate the Mansion Foyer (Ending B):**

*“Something doesn’t feel right here…”*

You will only have the option to investigate the Private Rooms.

*“When you re-enter the room, EIMI is nowhere to be seen. ICHIRO-san smiles and thanks you for your patience. Before you can say anything, he steps aside, showing you his greatest work…”*

You will receive Ending B.

## Keeping Track of EIMI

It is easy to keep track of EIMI if you follow her movements but the criteria for losing track of her can seem a bit unclear.

**Ways to lose track of EIMI:**

•Investigate two locations without EIMI consecutively

•Investigate three or more locations without EIMI overall

•Go to a specific location without EIMI (after meeting her) more than once

Since she will go through four of the six locations, a player who wishes to see all locations should make sure to investigate the Painting Studio only once, and make sure they investigate the location EIMI is at on their next turn, and then investigate the Workshed and investigate only EIMI’s location after that. Or vice-versa.

The following routes after meeting EIMI seem to be the best combinations for going to all locations and NOT losing track of EIMI:

(Painting Studio-Forest-Foyer-Workshed-Foyer-Boarded-Up Building)

(Forest-Foyer-Workshed-Foyer-Painting Studio-Boarded-Up Building)

(Forest-Painting Studio-Foyer-Workshed-Foyer-Boarded-Up Building)

(Forest-Foyer-Painting Studio-Foyer-Workshed-Boarded-Up Building)

(Painting Studio-Forest-Foyer-Foyer-Workshed-Boarded-Up Building)

## Endings

### **Ending A -Doomed Artist**

This can only be achieved if you only enter the Private Rooms at the same time as EIMI and re-enter on the next turn instead of going to the Mansion Foyer.

*“You’ve managed to finally defeat the horrible eldritch being and destroy the canvas it used as a portal. Feeling it won’t stop it, you and EIMI both take your time and burn every painting in the mansion. Hopefully, ICHIRO-san’s legacy will soon be forgotten.”*

### **Ending B - Grand Vernissage**

This can only be achieved if you enter the Private Rooms at the same time as EIMI and choose to go to the Mansion Foyer on the next turn.

*“At first you can’t even tell what you’re looking at.*

*ICHIRO-san’s smile gets wider when it finally hits you.*

*<<My greatest work, the ultimate painting…>>*

*It’s impossible! How could he paint it so fast and where is EIMI? The details are so life-like…*

*ICHIRO-san covers the painting with a piece of cloth before handing it to you.*

*<<I would like you, my greatest fan, to have this painting as a memory of our meeting.>>*

*The silent scream of EIMI having her head crushed by a monstrous best will haunt you forever but it’s an offer you can’t refuse…”*

### **Ending C - Show Must Go On**

This is the ending you'll get if you lose track of EIMI, or enter the Private Rooms before she is there.

*“As you rush to save EIMI, you notice something terrifying.*

*All grotesque painted monsters begin to… leave their canvases!*

*You can’t do anything but stare as they grab both corpses and begin devouring them!*

*In a last-ditch attempt, you knock over a lamp, setting the room on fire.*

*ICHIRO-san’s greatest creations can never see the light of the day.”*