[Sidenote:  Alberich.] Unable to free himself from Ortnit’s powerful grasp, the child now confessed that he was Alberich, king of the dwarfs, and promised Ortnit a marvelous suit of armor and the sword Rosen—­which had been tempered in dragons’ blood, and was therefore considered invulnerable—­if he would only let him go.

“’Save me, noble Otnit, for thy chivalry! 
A hauberk will I give thee, strong, and of wondrous might;
Better armor never bore champion in the fight.

“’Not eighty thousand marks would buy the hauberk bright. 
A sword of mound I’ll give thee, Otnit, thou royal knight;
Through armor, both of gold and steel, cuts the weapon keen;
The helmet could its edge withstand ne’er in this world was seen.’”
Heldenbuch (Weber’s
tr.).

The king consented, but the moment he set the dwarf free he felt him snatch the ring his mother had given him off his hand, and saw him mysteriously and suddenly disappear, his voice sounding tauntingly now on one side, now on the other.  Some parley ensued before the dwarf would restore the ring, which was no sooner replaced on the hero’s hand than he once more found himself able to see his antagonist.

Alberich now gravely informed Ortnit that in spite of his infantile stature he was very old indeed, having lived more than five hundred years.  He then went on to tell him that the king, whom Ortnit had until then considered his father, had no claim to the title of parent, for he had secretly divorced his wife, and given her in marriage to Alberich.  Thus the dwarf was Ortnit’s true father, and declared himself ready now to acknowledge their relationship and to protect his son.

[Sidenote:  Ortnit in Tyre.] After giving Ortnit the promised armor and sword, and directing him to turn the magic ring if ever he needed a father’s aid, Alberich vanished.  Ortnit, returning to town, informed his mother that he had seen his father; and as soon as the weather permitted he set sail for Suders (Tyre).  Ortnit entered the harbor as a merchant, and exhibited his wares to the curious people, while Alberich, at his request, bore a challenge to Machorell, threatening to take Tyre and the castle of Muntabure unless he were willing to accept Ortnit as son-in-law.

The dwarf acquitted himself nobly of his task, and when Machorell scornfully dismissed him, he hastened back to Tyre, bidding Ortnit lose no time in surprising and taking possession of the city.  This advice was so well carried out that Ortnit soon found himself master of the city, and marching on to Muntabure, he laid siege to the castle, restoring all his men as soon as they were wounded by a mere touch of his magic ring.  Alberich, whom none but he could see, was allowed to lead the van and bear the banner, which seemed to flutter aloft in a fantastic way.  The dwarf took advantage of this invisibility to scale the walls of the fortress unseen, and hurled down the ponderous machines used to throw stones, arrows, boiling pitch, and oil.  Thus he greatly helped Ortnit, who, in the mean while, was performing unheard-of deeds of valor, which excited the admiration of Princess Sidrat, watching him from her tower.