Warren

*"I have everything planned"*

## Plotline

The Listener meets their new cellmate in “Escaping With a Flirty Prisoner” when he is thrown into the cell with them. Sounding injured, he asks the Listener for a favor and check...if he’s still pretty. They seem to answer negatively, which pleases him, and he introduces himself as Warren T’shall “Breaker of hearts and maker of days”. He’s surprised by their polite introduction and handshake, commenting that it makes them the friendliest cellmate he’s had in prison.

He asks what the Listener did to land them in Laketon’s prison and is impressed by their response and amazed by how long their sentence is. He himself has five summers for setting up a fake toll booth and illegally collecting taxes, a genius plan according to him. He’s pleased to hear the Listener agrees with him.
Warren makes an offer laced with suggestion - to break out of prison with him. He assures the surprised Listener that he is not joking and is willing to work with them for freedom. He has a lockpick slipped to him by “an old friend who owed [him] a favor” and a plan, one he says he’s used several times before in different prisons. He’s confident that with his lockpick and the Listener’s “charms” they can make it out by tonight. Warren reveals he’s memorized the layout of the prison and reassures his new partner that they can trust him. If they do, they won’t regret it and it could even be the start of a real partnership between fellow criminals.
When Warren next appears, he is in Runika threatening an underling in “Flirty Gang Boss Makes You An Offer” for the gold he is owed before turning to the Listener and apologizing for his inattention. He thanks them, the Wild Walker from the Forest of Zetria, for meeting with him, confessing he had no idea who or what would answer his letter. Though they might not have heard of him, he’s very much aware of the rumors surrounding the mysterious Wild Walker - a person who disappeared into the forest for months and emerged with “the wilds at [their] side”, blessed with power after capturing the affection of a forest devil. They are exactly what he needs - if the person he’s speaking to is truly the Wild Walker.
Their response is vague because the gang boss admonishes them not to play coy, assuring them that he is a fast but honest man. He asks them if they are enjoying the safe, sterile life of law and order that has prevailed ever since the Lord Regent (hyperlink to Spymaster) took power. Their answer pleases him and Warren shares (in much more verbose language) that he’s not interested in being another cog in the machine of the city, his freedoms and business stifled by the law. Their interests, in fact, should be aligned against the Lord Regent who ordered leagues of the forest to be burned down.
The Wild Walker airs their suspicion but the former prisoner assures them there's no catch. Though his words drip with seduction, he promises that he is a businessman who is merely providing a service to the repressed citizens of Runika. He suggests that removing the Lord Regent from his throne would serve both their purposes: open more opportunities for the criminal economy and serve as justice for the forest’s destruction. The Wild Walker seems to question why he wants a partner and he explains that he’s no lone wolf; his criminal enterprise extends to the Southern Dukedoms, which is run by a former cellmate (probably the Listener in his debut). His plans in Runika, however, have only started and his horse races, smuggling, and protection rackets are small change in the grand scheme of things.
Warren asks more plainly if the rumors about the Wild Walker are true, the ones about the nature of their supernatural powers and if they seduced them from a forest demon. Their answer is vague but he appreciates their honest answer. He confesses that his plan is not just for business and profit. He’s also looking for revenge for his cousin, a younger man who worked near the factory district. Though the workers loved his singing voice, no one lifted a hand to help him when the pollution made him sick, robbing the young man first of his voice, then his life. All this happened while Warren was imprisoned in the south.
His flirtatious tone returns as he transitions to the details of his plan. The gang boss has acquired an invitation to a banquet being thrown by the Regent and he needs a plus one he can trust not to stab him in the back. The Wild Walker agrees to go with him but also questions why they should trust him. Warren admits that they shouldn’t but considers his honesty a point in his favor over the facade and manipulations of the noble class. He encourages his new partner to purchase any outfit they want in town on the house, plainly stating that all power and influence he wields in Runika is theirs too.

The Wild Walker meets up with him again in “A Masquerade Ball With A Flirty Gangster” where they and Warren are both decked out for the occasion. He is quick to compliment their appearance, not only because they clean up well but also for choosing his highly-recommended tailor. He comments that they blend right in with the wealthy noble guests and even outshine some of them. He points out two in particular a portly gentleman who is the officiator of trade in Runika, and Lady Billburry, matriarch of an extremely profitable trading cartel that he claims is just as crooked as he is (and the laughingstock of the Highwinter wedding reception). This makes the Wild Walker crack a smile and he answers their unheard question - that he does know every single guest at this banquet.
Warren asks them for a dance, all for the sake of blending in of course, and they seem to oblige. He again answers their unspoken question and explains that he qualified for an invitation through the number of legitimate businesses he runs in the city, though he had to make a few “charitable donations” before he received it. The Wild Walker calls him humble, possibly in jest, and he accepts it as a compliment. As they continue to dance, he explains the rest of the plan.
The Regent will make a dramatic introduction once the music stops and will, later in the evening, invite select a handful of guests to his study for a private audience. Warren wants his Wild Rose to be invited and steal some paperwork from his desk. When they ask how they’re supposed to accomplish that, he proposes that the Wild Walker’s enchanting appearance and personality should probably be enough to catch the attention of the Regent. He’s set them up with a fake identity, a noble from one of the fallen kingdoms in the Sarcillan Empire, and a key to the Regent’s desk. He arranged for a maid who works in the palace to swipe it from the head butler in return for a “charitable donation” to the hospital caring for her ailing mother, and said key was sewn into their sleeve by his tailor friend.
Warren tells the Wild Walker that, though they might be just one piece in the game he’s playing, he takes good care of the people he works with, unlike those of the higher class. The Wild Walker again makes a display of their distrust, which he says is very smart of them. To assuage their concerns, he reveals that his goal is more than just the destabilization of Runika’s economy for his own profit. Should his scheme succeed and the Regent’s government collapse, he hopes to have a legitimate position in whatever comes next, possibly as Duke or Chancellor of Trade. The powers bankrolling his plan will ensure it.

The ambitious gangster notices the Regent emerge and promises the Wild Walker that he will be with them - from a distance to maintain plausible deniability. He wishes them luck with these parting words: “May you walk in crimson.”

## Personality

Warren T’shall is a long-time criminal who’s worked his way up from petty crimes to running a criminal network that spans the southern portion of a continent. His strength lies in making alliances as his outgoing and cheeky personality is both disarming and charming. His gang appears to be built on a network of favors and “charitable donations” backed up by threats of violence. He also flirts like he breathes, though he admits it’s a coping method after being on the run from the law for so long. His constant flirtation, as witnessed through two different Listeners, comes off as casual conversation-making rather than indicative of a sincere, romantic interest. He’s revealed to be a meticulous planner, using every resource at his disposal to ensure the success of his schemes before it’s executed.

Warren the gang boss is more jaded than Warren the prisoner, possibly more ruthless as well. He operates on a “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” mentality and is open to displays of vulnerability to convince others to work with him. He considers his underhanded dealings to be honest compared to the manipulation and broken promises of the higher classes. It seems like part of his reputation is built on “paying back” his resources equal to the “cost” of the favors he asks of them. Though he admits to being untrustworthy, we have not yet seen break a promise or betray another in any way. He seems to hold a grudge against all nobility, though it’s unknown if it’s from personal experience or moral standpoint. However, it is clear that there is more to him given the individuals backing his latest scheme to overthrow Runika.
His flirtations and suggestive language have so far won him the cooperation of two partners (that we know of). They seem to either ignore it or don’t take such overtures seriously, and while he doesn’t stop he doesn’t appear to step over any boundaries of propriety. This suggests that his interest in them is 1) mostly aesthetic and 2) a social manipulation tactic to accomplish his personal goals. However, he trusts them enough to share some of his personal secrets,

## Trivia

### Warren

* Used to be imprisoned with a Rapturian cultist and a scholar who helped his vocabulary
* Breakout plan consists of 1) Find the most attractive accomplice and 2) Do the escaping.
* Swears by the Unseen One, though not averse to working with worshipers of the Crimson Mother

### Listener

* Seemingly unfazed by flirtation as they don’t appear to reciprocate at all
* Didn’t know how to deal with a water lock
* Owns half of the smuggling ring they run with Warren, leading it from the Southern Dukedoms. They smuggle arcane artifacts in and out of Runika.

### Wild Walker

We recommend reading this first as the Wild Walker’s relevant origin story.

* Warren calls them his “Wild Rose” beautiful but with thorns, and often acknowledges their captivating grace and beauty
* They are distrustful of human society and blunt about it, though they are reticent about their supernatural abilities and their relationship with their benefactor (hyperlink)
* Dialogue suggests they have only recently returned to human society through Runika though they appear able to function in it without much fuss or outrage. This suggests that their outward appearance remains human-like.

### Fan Theories

* Warren and his business partner work with the Order of Occult Phenomenon

## Main Audios (in order of upload date)

1. Escaping With a Flirty Prisoner
2. Flirty Gang Boss Makes You An Offer
3. A Masquerade Ball With A Flirty Gangster

## Related Audios (in order of upload date)

1. Captured By Your Spymaster
2. Yandere Leshen Rewards You
3. Evil Emperor Wants You To Himself