"Ho! Vassals! Come! Hither come ye with your arms!" he shouted, blowing again a sharp blast upon the horn. In response the warriors of Gunther began to pour from the hall, and to run in great excitement to the river-bank.
"What do we gather for? Whom shall we fight? Is our Lord, Gunther, in danger?"
"He comes hither with a Valkyrie maid, and ye are to make sacrifices to the Gods. Kill ye a boar for Froh, a goat for Donner, and for Fricka kill a sheep. After ye have done those things, take the drinking horns and drink yourselves drunk in honour of the Gods."
The vassals went, some of them to the river's bank to receive Gunther and Brünnhilde, some to the hall to await their coming, and to welcome them upon its threshold.
"If any one has done your Lord's bride wrong, see that ye avenge her," Hagen forewarned. He was already beginning to stir up strife for Siegfried in accordance with Alberich's advice.
Scene IV
Clashing their shields and arms together, the vassals formed a line through which Brünnhilde and Gunther should pass, and when the boat reached the landing place all cried "Hail!" But Hagen stood silently watching, planning Siegfried's ruin.
When the pair stepped ashore, Brünnhilde walked with eyes cast down, full of despair and sorrow, while Gunther led her by the hand.
They reached the hall, where Siegfried and Gutrune stood to welcome them, and the men hailed each other as brother. Gunther rejoiced that Siegfried had won Gutrune for his wife, but Brünnhilde raised her eyes to the knight, and beholding her own husband, the hero knight, she gave a great cry:
"Siegfried here?" She became distracted with horror. But Siegfried did not know her, and all her entreaties were in vain, since he was still enchanted by the potion.