Alberich serves as guardian of the Nibelungenhort, the cursed treasure hoard of the Nibelungen, defending it with his strength of twelve men and his cloak of invisibility until Siegfried overpowers him and claims both hoard and Tarnkappe.
The Nibelungenhort destroyed Brunhild twice: Sigurd gave her a ring from the hoard as a betrothal pledge, then reclaimed it while impersonating Gunther. When Kriemhild produced the ring as proof of the deception, it shattered Brunhild's honor and set the tragedy in motion.
Fafnir murdered his father Hreidmar to seize the Nibelungenhort and transformed into a dragon to guard the cursed treasure on Gnita-heath, where Sigurd eventually slew him and claimed the hoard.
Hagen seized the Nibelungenhort from Kriemhild and sank it in the Rhine near Lochheim, swearing an oath with his kings never to reveal its resting place. He carried the secret to his death, defying Kriemhild's final demand even after she brought him Gunther's severed head.
After Siegfried's death, the Nibelungenhort passed to Kriemhild as her inheritance. She used the gold to win followers until Hagen seized the hoard and sank it in the Rhine. Kriemhild's rage at losing both husband and treasure drove her to lure the Burgundians to their destruction at Etzel's court.
Sigurd slew Fafnir and claimed the Nibelungenhort, the cursed treasure that would shadow his fate. He gave Brunhild's ring from the hoard to Kriemhild, whose display of it as proof of the bridal deception led to Siegfried's murder.
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