A little more info....

The local woman, whose name is Minerva, has been seeking an audience with the Gorgon for quite some time. She has, it is said, a quite amazing story to share--but she won't share it with anyone but the Gorgon. Apparently, there is some history between the two of them, and the big G won't invite her in. When she heard that we were all honored guests, she flew into a rage, and cast a spell on the river, turning it into thousands of silver starlings, who flew into the air and slithered across the sky in a serpentine mass. Her hope is that the valley will die, and the Gorgon will be forced to come to her for help, or face losing the H of S altogether. I'm not sure how to appease her, but the fact that the starlings continue to swirl lazily over the valley is a good sign, I think...