I was wandering aimlessly through the town on the morning of the tenth day, thinking about who I might talk to in order to get a lead on the day's events - the Inquisitor and the General were both entirely unoccupied with any pressing concerns whatsoever - and I was approaching the warehouse district when I thought to myself, there's no way Notkin could possibly have any information for me, as he has for the most part been pretty uninvolved in my scenario. Sure enough, only moments after that thought had crossed my mind, I got a note from Notkin summoning me to his warehouse den. According to his sources, Rubin had been talking about me for some reason, so it was imperative that I have a chat with him.
I entered Rubin's secret laboratory, also located in the warehouse district, and found, to my surprise, not Rubin waiting there, but the Bachelor. He told me that Rubin had discovered something about my true nature by examining Simon's blood (and also, apparently, by examining the blood of those I had cured with my magic hands). Rubin was headed for the Kains to reveal his discovery, but the Bachelor wasn't confident they'd receive him well. After all, George and Victor were both preparing for their self-sacrifices, and Maria Kain was coming into her own as the new Mistress - I don't think any of them are particularly interested in seeing Simon return to power. Internal familial struggles and whatnot.
So when I spoke to Maria Kain, it was no surprise that she had had Rubin arrested. For once the General was actually helpful, in that his soldiers had fought the Kains' personal guards who were escorting Rubin. They got away with Rubin, but one of them had been captured and tossed into the makeshift prison on the other side of the Town Council (the side not commandeered by the General as a temporary base of operations). The prison was, however, crawling with infection.
I struck a deal with the prisoner - I would free him for information on where Rubin was taken. I have to admit it was quite convenient having the General in my pocket. I hardly even had to negotiate. The prisoner directed me towards a building in the factory district, but I arrived too late. The Haruspicus was there, and he informed me that he was unsuccessful in rescuing Rubin, who was taken towards the Theatre to be tossed in the vault under the ground (the one that connects via labyrinthine tunnels to Young Vlad's well - by this time filled up). I headed for the sewer entrance behind the Theatre, and found the Rat Prophet there waiting for me.
He let me in, and a couple downed guards later, I was talking to Rubin. He revealed the nature of my power. Apparently my hands have the ability to transform the blood, to infuse it with antibodies to fight the disease. For normal people it may only be enough to heal them, but Rubin assured me that there were certain individuals whose blood could be transformed into sacred blood by my power - blood equal to the avroxes, and able to be used in the creation of the Haruspicus' Panacea. These people were, of course, Simon's confidants - and my adherents. By their sacrifice, and with the help of my power, we could obtain enough sacred blood to fight off the disease - saving the town without the requirement of destroying the Polyhedron in order to open up the life vein of the earth.
So I guess that explains the mechanics of my miracle. At first, with the criminals all declaring themselves guilty of the plague, I thought it was too easy to assign guilt to any of them. After awhile, with the sheer number and severity of criminals present in the town revealed to me, I began to think that it was not any single criminal's guilt that brought on the plague, but the sum total of their evil concentrated in the town that had brought on grim retribution - not unlike the Great Flood of biblical lore. Regardless of whatever or whomever is responsible, it appears that repenting criminals will have an opportunity to voluntarily sacrifice their own lives for the benefit of others. By forfeiting their soiled lives, they can become medicine to heal others, much like Simon became.
I wonder how they will take this information, though I feel there will be little resistance among them, each one of which has embraced the faith of humility and the will to repent through death.
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