Dietrich replied that no evil had befallen them; he did but seek permission to withdraw with all his men. This Günther gladly granted, whereupon Dietrich, taking the Queen on one arm and King Etzel on the other, retired from the hall, followed by his knights; but no Huns were permitted to depart with them. Then Rüdiger, who had welcomed the Burgundians so hospitably on their way thither, also sprang upon the table and asked if no others might pass out. And Giselher, who was betrothed to Rüdiger’s daughter, cried:
“Naught is there but peace between us, gallant Rüdiger, for thou hast ever kept true faith with us and never sought to do us harm.”
So Rüdiger with his followers also departed from the hall in peace. A Hunnish knight had sought to slip out unseen behind the King, but Volker swiftly smote him dead upon the spot. When King Etzel was once more without he stood and cried aloud in grief:
“Now woe unto this peaceful feast!
And woe unto this day!
For there within is one doth rage
Like wild boar brought to bay.
This devil fierce is Volker hight
A minstrel knight is he.
Thanks be to God that by his grace