Stories of the In-Between
The Valley of Alleys
From what we understand, Gregory passed into the In-Between quite suddenly. Only equipped with an assortment of pens, a "lucky" stapler, a stack of papers, and his trusty tablet.
The tablet being described as "probably around like 40% left", and the stack of papers already filled out. From the drawings in the aforementioned glossary, we theorized that these stacks must have been the temporary solution to writing down his experiences. We of course, base that on the backside of said drawings, seeing as they carry formatted documents written in sans-serif with the occasional colored diagram. As described on one of the very first pages, the 'Valley of Alleyways' as Gregory calls it, is the first place he ended up. It is described as a long and narrow valley, with tall cliffs that stretch far above. In between these cliffs, is what can only be described as a maze stretching for what he describes as "A good three-day walk", which, unless Gregory has no sense of direction, we estimate to be around 178 kilometers (in the one direction) according to his description. The maze is made of alleyways of different times and locations from our world, of which Gregory (after calming down over his predicament) noted some. Amongst these, he noted immovable posters of World War 2 propaganda, some of nightclub advertisements, a lost cat (in both English, German and Polish from translated drawings). As well as one "singing wall" that reminded him of the karaoke bar across from a friend's old apartment complex. In daytime, he recalled the sunlight providing the necessary lighting, but at night, it would seemingly come from an alley or two across from where he was, as a sort of ambient light. In addition to the light, he noted sounds of bustling 'city-life' always coming from across an alley, sometimes accompanied by loud car horns, occasionally leading him astray. When we get our first note of Gregory ever leaving this valley, it is of how, when looking back, there is no actual valley or alleyway, only an exit. The open-sky and tall valley seems to have been covered with perfectly ordinary hills and scenery. Now, in a later addendum (judging by a half-scribbled page), he notes, that the maze brought him to the south-eastern exit, and has since disappeared
"Betweenlanders oft mention the maze as putting people in seats of predicaments. Appearing out of nowhere, moving them from one place to another, which some deem entirely random and unpredictable, while others call it prophecy. Regardless, it should be avoided if given the chance."
As said by Gregory, his ending note on the Valley of Alleys.
