The clearing was bright and very green, and the gentlest of breezes made the grass and flowers dance where they grew. Three figures approached the spring and were sweating profusely from a whole day's walking under the sun's merciless rays.

The lawyer was the first to reach their goal, and with a heaving sigh he slumped down before the pool of water and dropped his heavy rucksack. He let himself fall into the grass, stretching out his long arms and legs and took a long, relieved breath. The doctor followed shortly after. She took greater care sitting down but looked no less exhausted or happy to have made it.

'No way?' she said.

'Right? Looks like the old man was telling the truth after all,' said the lawyer.

'Well, at least there's a spring here. For now, that's all we know,' the doctor shrugged. 'Just imagine.'

It took quite a while for the professor to finally catch up. His middle-aged companions were already sitting up again and enjoyed their provisions while continuing to speculate, and to examine the pool from a safe distance.

The doctor waved as the old man came closer.

'Look who's made it,' the lawyer grinned. 'I had half a mind to go back, and carry you the rest of the way.'

'It's not my fault that you two were in such a hurry,' said the professor in between gasps for air.

He perked up as soon as he spotted the pool, glistening sunlight reflecting off of its surface.

'Beautiful,' he said, and took a few steps forward.

'Hey, why don't you sit down first. Have a sandwich,' the doctor said and held one up, but the professor seemed as though in a trance.

'Beautiful,' he said again. 'We're here. We're are really here at last.'

He turned around sharply.

'How?' he said, his voice suddenly raised. 'How can you be so calm? How can you eat? Look! Just look at where we are. At what we have.'

'Heat getting to you?' said the lawyer.

'Quiet you,' said the professor, dramatically pointing an accusing finger.

His friends smiled bemusedly. Laboriously they rose to their feet, the lawyer pulling the doctor up in an almost gentlemanly manner, and they joined the old man by the spring.

'So?' the lawyer said. 'This is really it? You're sure?'

'There can be no doubt,' the professor said. 'It's exactly how I always imagined it, so very... pure.'

'It's pretty,' admitted the doctor. 'But will it... you know? Work?'

'Of course,' replied the professor, indignation in his voice. 'Can you not see the magic?'

They exchanged a glance.

'Well yeah,' the lawyer said hesitantly. 'From a certain point of view, it's pretty magical... .'

'Bah,' made the professor. 'You aren't looking right.'

Hurriedly the old man began to unbutton his shirt.

'Hey, hold on,' the doctor placed a hand on his shoulder. 'Don't just go and jump in. Are you mad!'

'What! What are you here for then?' the professor scoffed.

'We still need to do tests, take samples, you can't just...  I mean...  What are you thinking!'

'Bollocks to your tests,' the professor giggled, and threw his shirt over his shoulders.

The wizened, old body suddenly moved with incredible ease, joints hardly creaking at all as jumped up and down trying to undo his belt. The doctor glared at the professor, then turned to the lawyer, who shrugged.

'Oh well, if you can't beat the wrinkly old goat...' he said with a carefree smile.

The doctor's reply was a frustrated grunt, but she too began to undress. The professor was stretching shamelessly, his naked form on full display, small and slim as it was, seeming perpetually malnourished.

'Haha!' The old man shrieked happily, took a run up and jumped.

There was a modest splash and he went under right away. The doctor was quite happy to finally get off her bra. The three friends' shared sauna nights had made embarrassment a thing of their past, and the breeze felt soothing against her somewhat sagging breasts. Hiking was keeping her moderately fit, but looking down at her body she couldn't deny that she was also rather fond of pudding. She looked over at the lawyer. He was easily the most active among them, and it showed, what with his broad shoulders and strong arms. His ginger hair remained vibrant, but the doctor was quite happy to see that the signs of ageing hadn't left her friend entirely untouched. Naked at last she wiped sweaty strands of greying hair out if her face, and calmly, head held high, walked to the edge of the pool.

The professor came up for air, with an expression of unbridled glee. The water was pretty deep and reached up to the old man's chest. The doctor dipped her toe. A pleasant tingling sensation travelled up her foot.

'Anything?' she asked.

'It's extraordinary,' the professor gushed. 'Magnificent.'

The doctor decided to sit down by the spring and slowly began to submerge her legs.

Splash!

The lawyer had imitated the professor and leapt in, and the doctor screamed as a small wave washed over her.

'Oy!'

'Woah. That feels great,' the lawyer stared at his wet hand in wonder.

Droplets of water crawled across the doctor's skin, causing much more of the lovely tingly feeling.

Sod it, she thought, took a deep breath, and with a push dropped in as well. The water was cool and refreshing, and a strange excitement began to build inside of her. There was a serene calm under the surface, and the doctor felt happy in the dark quiet depth, enjoying the sudden stillness until her breath had very nearly run out.

The rustling of leaves and the twittering of songbirds returned along with the golden daylight, and she turned to look at the men. Both of them had a blissful, carefree look on their faces.

The lawyer genially patted the professor on the back.

'Marvellous discovery,' he said earnestly. 'Well done, old bean.'

'It's really nice,' the doctor admitted. 'But... '

'You're being rather impatient today,' the professor said.

The doctor bit her lip. 'Aren't you curious at all?'

'I don't have to be,' the professor said proudly. 'I have faith.'

'Faith? You?' the doctor had to laugh out loud. 'Since when?'

'Ever since I set eyes on this spring,' came the sincere reply.

He sounded like it too. His voice was dripping with the certainty of a truly devout religious man.

The doctor looked at the lawyer for support and shook her head. 'I can't believe this.'

'I'm aware. But you will,' the professor said, and the doctor rolled her eyes.

'Oh, leave him be,' the lawyer smiled. 'But I have to say, I'm rather curious as well. What does your little story say about how this thing works?'

'Ah well, unfortunately, it's not one little story,' the professor explained. 'There are countless accounts of people encountering this, well, this holy place, and they have a bit of a tendency to contradict each other. Why'd you think it took us so long to find the bloody thing?'

The professor stroked his stubbly chin. 'Luckily enough there are some constants,' he continued.

He then waded through the water and reached for his trousers.

'A prayer,' he said. 'A prayer and a sacrifice.'

'A sacrifice?' the lawyer sounded alarmed, but the professor held up three one-hundred-pound notes.

'More than enough for a sheep,' he explained.

'Seriously?' asked the lawyer.

'Oh yes, there was apparently a merchant who used gold coins, and I don't see how this is any different.' The professor dropped the banknotes, and they happily floated on the surface.

'Now, let's see that translation,' he said and held up a piece of paper.

'You're mad. You know that, right?' the doctor said.

'Yeah...' the lawyer began. 'Look, what do you think will happen here?'

The professor looked up, and for the first time, he seemed to take notice of the others' doubts.

'Just humour me for a bit then,' he said.

'Fine,' said the lawyer, and the doctor nodded reluctantly.

'Right. Now then. When I'm done with the prayer, we all go under at the same time and stay submerged for as long as possible. Got that?'

There were murmurs of agreement.

'Great,' the professor rubbed his hands, then cleared his throat. 'Mighty Hermes. Here me, o god of games and art, of strength and virility. Here me o winged lord, o great trickster, and listen for I humble myself before you. Take what I offer, and give in return what you see fit.'

The wind grew stronger. The professor gave his friends a meaningful look.

'Come off it,' the doctor said.

The professor looked down, and the others followed his gaze and gasped.

'W-what in the world?' the lawyer's voice trembled.

'No way,' said the doctor.

The water around the banknotes was bubbling as though it had started to boil.

'Hear me,' the professor had to shout over the sudden storm. 'Reward your servants! Grant us your divine gift, and share with us the wealth of the gods!'

With fear and despair in his eyes, the lawyer made the sign of the cross.

'Hahaha! Wrong god, my friend, but do not fear!' said the professor.

There was a deafening boom. A bolt of lightning hit a nearby tree, and it exploded in a shower of bark and treacle.

'Hear me, o king of thieves, and deliver us from our pain!' continued the professor.

He let go of the piece of paper, and it was swept away by a gust. 'Now!'

The doctor could only just hear the old man's voice over the howling of the wind. She took a painful breath of freezing air and ducked down.

This time she embraced the quiet even more eagerly. Her face felt prickly in the hot water after enduring the stinging cold. Her mind and heart were racing. What? No, this was completely impossible. What? Just what was going on?

The pleasant tingling returned, much stronger than before, and soon she had pins and needles all over her body. Wait? How long had she been under? Was she? She was breathing! So what had the old man meant? But she knew almost immediately. The feeling grew stronger still, and there was nothing she could do, no matter how she squirmed or bent or tried to massage it out of her, it became more and more intense, until it was impossible to bear, and she was ready to brave the storm once more.

Above the water was the rustling of leaves and twittering birds. The surface was calm again, and the sun shone as bright as ever. For a second the doctor was alone, then there was a gasp, and the most beautiful man she'd ever seen emerged. He was huge, his muscles were bulging, his hair thick and black and long, and his face was youthful and perfect and radiated pure happiness.

The doctor lowered her head immediately. No way!

'M-my Lord Hermes?'

The man laughed raucously, and the doctor felt as though she'd heard that laughter somewhere before.

'No, silly. It's me,' he said. 'And I feel great. And you, my dear, you look great.'

There was another splash and a stunning, young woman rose from the spring. She was no less perfect than the Herculean man, her figure curvy, her bosom defying the very laws of gravity and her smooth skin alabaster. She had red hair, ginger hair of a familiar shade.

The doctor's jaw dropped.

The flames were crackling away happily in the wooden cabin's fireplace, and flickering shadows danced all across the room. The hulking giant that was the professor sat in a comfy armchair wearing a dressing gown that had belonged to the lawyer, the seams of which were currently under quite a lot of strain. The professor looked utterly content and was bemusedly eyeing his shell-shocked companions.

The doctor was young now. No day older than eighteen from the looks of her, and she found her new appearance rather more dignified than the lawyer's. The doctor knew that she herself hadn't simply been rejuvenated either. Never in her youth had she looked remotely as good, fit or even as symmetrical as she did now, but at least her perky tits and shapely behind looked humanly possible. She had an arm slung around the lawyer's new body, and was gently stroking her back.

'And you never, you know, wanted to be a girl? Not even as a child?' asked the doctor

'I-I don't think so. No, never,' the gorgeous redhead replied.

She was breathing heavily, and her chest rose and fell in a way that made the doctor feel rather hot all of a sudden.

'Of course you did,' said the professor, his voice now a deep, resonant baritone. 'You may well have been lying to yourself, but no one can hide the truth from the gods.'

'The truth,' the lawyer said and shook her head.

'You know,' the doctor said, trying to sound encouraging. 'I realize this must come as a shock for you, but I don't think he's wrong about this. And just for the record... you look amazing.'

The lawyer smiled weakly.

'You like girls now?' she asked.

The doctor thought about it.

'I don't think there is a human alive that would say no to you,' she said. 'To either of you. To any of us.'

She felt a rush; what was she saying? And what's more: why did she know it to be true? Well. It was obvious, wasn't it, anyone with eyes would be able to see it.

She looked into the lawyer's eyes. They were a brilliant shade of blue, large and bright, like a pair of unfathomable oceans.

'I wouldn't,' said the doctor.

'Wouldn't?'

'I wouldn't say no.'

How close they suddenly were. She could see the lawyer's soft, alabaster skin, close enough to reach out and touch. She did. It was warm and soft. She stroked her arm, and placed a hand on the dressing gown's cord.

'W-what are you doing?' the lawyer's naturally sultry voice was still trembling.

'I haven't been young for so, so long,' the doctor said. 'Let's embrace it. I want you. I want both of you.'

By now the professor's smile had given way to a look of deep longing.

'What about you?' he asked the lawyer.

'I-I don't even know what's happening anymore,' she said and abruptly stood up.

'Sorry,' said the doctor.

'That's not it... What I meant was... I-I want you too, both of you. Oh, what am I saying?'

'Hey,' said the professor, and rose to his feet as well. 'My dear friend.'

'This is new for all of us,' he placed a hand on the lawyer's cheek. 'Let us share this experience. Let us be here for each other.'

With tears in her eyes, the lawyer nodded gratefully.

'I think I'd like that very much,' she said.

The professor led the way into the bedroom. Even the largest of the cabin's beds was old and creaky, with dusty sheets, which hadn't been changed in ages, but the friends ignored all of it. Kissing and fondling, unable to keep their hands away from each other the lawyer and the professor fell onto the mattress first and eagerly began to roll around, never stopping from grabbing every bit of flesh they could reach. The doctor almost felt left out, but before she had a chance to protest a gigantic hand grabbed her arm, gently, yet with a prodigious strength, and dragged her into the fold.

A fire had been ignited in the three of them, and relentless vigour drove them on and on. The professor was on his back, looking up at the doctor's beautiful pussy, kissing every inch of it, wet and dripping, juices flowing in response to his tongue exploring this beautiful landscape. He had to strain his neck to reach up. She was above him on all fours, facing away from him, her knees were to either side of his head, and he was grabbing a hold of her legs firmly, his powerful fingers digging deep into the tan, shapely thighs, and he was panting and moaning blissfully.

The lawyer meanwhile was sitting on the professor's crotch and had enveloped his rigid, engorged manhood with her brand new warm and moist vagina. She was writhing up and down, every single movement a new ecstatic experience. The girls were facing each other, and the lawyer caressed the doctor's delicate face with her own flawless hand as they kissed. Their soft lips parted eagerly, and their tongues were intertwined as though lovers themselves, teasing and reaching in deep, the two of them inseparably linked.

It was an experience of beauty and pleasure. There was total acceptance and admiration, friendship and a deep, deep love they all shared for each other, their new bodies as well as their old. None of them could remember how often they had climaxed, had lost themselves in orgasmic bliss, and it was in a haze of exhaustion and happiness that they found themselves. A heap of tired and sweaty beautiful people, and no matter how observant no human onlooker would have been able to see where one person ended and another began.

The onlooker, however, was not human. His smile was mischievous, and his stare intent and piercing. His mere presence returned life and vigour back to the friends, and bright, youthful laughter filled the room.

'My servants, have you another round in you?'