Brunnhilde sends Siegfried back into the world and, with the last shred of her power, grants him invulnerability in battle unless he turns his back on a foe. Siegfried arrives at the stronghold of the Gibichung Clan. There he is bewitched by Hagen with a potion that makes him forget Brunnhilde and fall in love with the first woman he sees - Gutruna. Siegfried asks for her hand in marriage, but he can have it only after rescuing Brunnhilda for Gunther to wed. This is a plot by Hagen to get the Ring of Power for himself. Siegfried has scaled the mountain of fire again, but this time has made himself look like Gunther, using the power of the Tarnhelm. He wrests the ring from her finger, and he heads back towards the city after she has passed out. There, they prepare for the weddings. During the ceremony, Brunnhilde announces that Siegfried is her beloved, not Gunther. She tells that startled crowd that he even shared his manly company with her for a night. Gunther believing that their blood oath has been broken, summons his men to kill Siegfried. Siegfried cuts through all the men easily, and Brunnhilde reveals the reason why - the enchantment she gave him. Gunther proposes a truce that Siegfried wed Gutruna and left his kingdom, while Hagen plots his death.

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