Thus suddenly brought to his senses, Wotan, king of the Northern gods, protests that he never really intended to part with the beauty, light, and sweetness of life, and seeks to excuse himself by urging that Loge, the god of fire and the arch-deceiver, overpersuaded him by promising to find some way of escape from the fatal bargain:—­

   ’He whom I hearkened to swore
    To find a safety for Freya;
    On him my hope have I set.’

They are still discussing the matter, and eagerly wondering why Loge does not appear, when Freya comes rushing wildly upon the stage, with fear-blanched face and trembling limbs, breathlessly imploring the father of the gods to save her from the two huge giants in close pursuit.  In her terror she also summons her devoted brothers, Donner and Fro.  But, in spite of the strength of these potent gods of the sunshine and thunder, the giants boldly advance, boasting aloud of their achievement, and demanding the fulfilment of the stipulated contract.

The gods are almost at their wits’ end with anxiety, when Loge, god of fire, appears.  They loudly clamour to him to keep his word and release them from the consequences of their rash bargain.  In reply to this summons, Loge declares he has wandered everywhere in search of something more precious than youth and love, and that he has utterly failed to find it.  No one, he says, is ready to relinquish these blessed gifts,—­no one except Alberich, who has bartered love for the gleaming treasure which he has just stolen from the Rhine nymphs.  Loge concludes his speech by delivering to Wotan an imploring message from the defrauded maidens, who summon him to avenge their wrongs and help them to recover the stolen gold.  The description of the gleaming treasure, of the power of the ring which Alberich has fashioned out of it, and especially of the immense hoard which he has amassed by the unlimited sway which the ring enables him to wield over all the underground folk, has so greatly fascinated the giants, that, after a few moments’ consultation, they step forward, offering to relinquish all claim to the previously promised reward, providing the hoard is theirs ere nightfall.  This said, they bear the shrieking and reluctant Freya away as a hostage, and vanish in the distance.

As they depart, the light suddenly grows wan and dim.  The goddess who has just departed is the dispenser of the golden apples of perennial youth according to Wagner, and, as she vanishes, the gods, deprived of the substance which keeps them ever young, suddenly lose all their vigour and bloom, and grow visibly old and gray, to their openly expressed dismay:—­

   ’Without the apples,
    Old and hoar—­
    Hoarse and helpless—­
    Worth not a dread to the world,
    The dying gods must grow.’

This sudden change, especially in his beloved wife Fricka, determines Wotan to secure the gold at any price, and he bids Loge lead the way to Alberich’s realm, following him bravely down through a deep cleft in the rock, whence rises a dense mist, which soon blots the whole scene from view.