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Discover weekly, the best short stories

Looking for a steady supply of adventure short stories? Every week thousands of writers submit stories to our writing contest.

8550+ Adventure Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. From riding the high sea to climbing behemoth mountains, there isn’t any action that’s out of reach when it comes to adventure stories.

Adventure Short Stories – Page 180 of 571

My New Friend Is A Dragon

Submitted to Contest #185

There once was a small and humble village located on the far corners of the world in the land of Navenon. It was a quaint little place, unlike the large and thriving city that lay just passed two mountains, a great lake, and a rolling hill. They were hunter-gatherers. They fought with swords and shields. They hunted with bows and arrows. They drank mead for thirst and ate boar for appetite. Though the village was poor, they have still been a well-established community for the last fifty years. For the last ten years, the village has been ab...

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Fantastic Voyages of the World

Submitted to Contest #185

Time is a seamstress. She stitches importance into the otherwise mundane. Coffee shops on our favorite street, the bridge where we had our first kiss, and in my case, a book that my grandpa read me on his knee. It was always the calm quiet during a loud thunderstorm or a nice way of passing a summer afternoon. As the years turned into double digits, however, those stories took on a new shape, a new importance. Shame on me, I let the book fall into disrepair and neglect. The cover was coated with dust, but in my mind’s eye, the stories shone...

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Oh! The legends you find in my mind.

Submitted to Contest #185

“Ye present clans of the Eyinase! Hear and gather! Your Majesty brings you tidings to bend all round ears!” All four-legs of the clans raced to hear what King Myru had to declare. Rumors that the hated, barbaric Mosirus of the surrounding cardboard mounds and walls plotted against the beauteous bounty that was the birth land of Eyinase had abounded in recent spans, so the Visier advised the rotund White King to address their concerns. Especially the burgeoning females awaiting birth. The Land of Eyinase had grown considerably in the long ag...

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The Scrolls of Garguana

Submitted to Contest #185

With one fell, destructive swoop, all fifteen thousand, nine-hundred and twenty-three books were destroyed. The Brigadier’s Bounty, the galleon that had been used to store and transport the arcane texts from isle city to isle city crashed into the water under the weight of the Nautilus Leviathan’s gargantuan tendrils.  It was all Elsbeth could do to manage her way through the thrashing waters into the remains of a lifeboat. Just as the fate of the galleon, the lifeboat was smashed in fragments, leaving only vaguely artificial pieces o...

31 likes 14 comments 14
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Empty Nest

Submitted to Contest #185

Maud stretched out languorously upon her mattress of gold and jewels. The sight of it was both grand and impressive, and then some. The gold and jewels sparkled with an inner light and even in the drab lighting of Maud’s lair the mountain of treasure glowed tantalisingly. There is nothing like the sight of untold wealth and riches to get the greed buds itching and tingling and even the least materialistic would be dribbling enviously at Maud’s incredible hoard of treasure. Then there was Maud herself. Maud was, and indeed still is, a drago...

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The Ivy Castle In The Weeds.

Submitted to Contest #185

"It's mine and you can't have it!" yelled the orc warlock from his balcony perch. Baron William and the five young adventurers stood in the castle bailey's centre. The orc lord’s keep towered high above them, creeping ivy had climbed the gray stone walls all the way to the top. “Your army is defeated. We have survived the labyrinth. We are here to return the world’s heart before its power destroys the everything!” yelled Percival.“I will never give away my riches. It's all mine! The heart of the earth is mine! All mine” he laughed mania...

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Bargains with Dragons

Submitted to Contest #185

The Warlock. The Dragon. The Bargain. Godwick Emberfoot emerged from a burst of supernatural fire. A rain of sparks and cinder followed him as he was violently cast into the dark. “Hahk!” Godwick gasped, gripping his side and winded by the impact. Wherever he was, it was blacker than a coal mine, and Godwick could see nothing. Bobbing his head into his hands, Godwick sobbed, mumbled, and rocked on his knees. Unkempt, greasy black hair fell over the iron shackles at his wrists. Godwick mumbled, reassuring himself that he would survive.  ...

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Storage Unit 420

Submitted to Contest #185

One fateful night in New Castle, Pennsylvania, an elderly married couple was traveling home from the grocery store when their vehicle was hit by a truck that had run a red light at an intersection near their home. It was determined that the driver of the truck had suffered a heart-attack and had lost consciousness just prior to the intersection causing the violent and fatal crash. The driver of the truck was pronounced dead at the scene and so was the husband. The wife however was transported to the local hospital and placed on life support ...

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Vaudeville is Dead and Maybe Captain Billy Too

Submitted to Contest #185

Author's Note: The saga of the Good Tugboat Samson continues. Starting in Contest #180 and #184. Captain Billy Chunk and his crew face new challenges from outside and inside on the waters of Puget Sound.It was early Monday morning aboard the Good Tug Boat Samson. The crew was mustered in the Galley for a Safety Meeting. The topic of the Monthly Safety Packet was "Ladders: Step Up to Safety!". Ladders? A sense of Deja Vu washed over Captain Billy as he was certain he had heard this topic for the umpteenth time. The verbose Mister Mate Mark be...

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My adopted dragon mother.

Submitted to Contest #185

Clip clop, clip clop… went the sound of metallic horse shoes as a robust heavily laden horse negotiated a steep and narrow shingle mountain path. On his back was a knight in shiny armour ( well his armour was not that shiny, more dusty and rusty.) “Perkins, it may seem strange to you, but do you remember that unidentifiable tavern we stopped in at. Well it may of cost the last of my gold coins to get my hands on this map, but I promise you it’ll be worth it when we get to the mysterious mountain side castle where a princess from a lost kin...

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Rat Tails and Dragon Wings

Submitted to Contest #185

Water trickling from aged stalactites landed on the dragon’s resting head. Droplets collected on his scales, glistening in the scarce sunlight, and puddling against the cave walls. Curled up like a fat cat on a rug, the dragon lay in pure serenity with the riches of the world surrounding him. Each item was meticulously stacked on top of one another and the dragon was often rearranging them to pass the time. The dragon once reveled in the adrenaline rush destruction gave him, and that cruelty earned him an unprecedented hoard. The bea...

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Dagwood the Dragon

Submitted to Contest #185

           For centuries, Dagwood and his family had flown over the countryside, burning, and pillaging every village in their path. His father, Felonias, was the most feared dragon in the realm, and taught Dagwood and his siblings the ways of their ancestors. Each dragon was empowered with their own special gift. Firestorm, the eldest, could create blue flames that would incinerate anything it came in contact with. Tempest, the only female of the dragon siblings, held the power of the...

15 likes 4 comments 4
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Fool's Gold.

Submitted to Contest #185

 Ophelia spent countless hours laying, belly up, wings outstretched, jaw gaping open, long legs and claws strewn over her hoard.She had hundreds of years amassing it. She had pillaged and plundered many kingdoms and villages, butchering anyone who got in her way, taking every shiny, valuable thing they had; she had acclimated over fifty crowns, over one hundred chalices, at least over three hundred necklaces and enough coins for her to make herself comfortable at night.That didn’t include the sheer amount of gold and silver armour she h...

18 likes 3 comments 3
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Holding on to Thin Air

Submitted to Contest #185

Trent Obertson was a private pilot who flew among the towering Chugach Mountains in Alaska.  He loved bobbing in and around the fluffy white clouds that hung like overripe melons among the snow covered peaks.  There was an expression for pilots who flew the Monomee Pass through the Nelchina into Talkeetna called, “Hanging on to thin air.”  When flying this route, Trent noticed how much the cold and warm air would struggle for control that resulted in his plane being buffet during the flight.   His Cessna 206 was versatil...

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The Heart of Dunamis

Submitted to Contest #184

Dunamis loomed below the ship. Its towering trees tore through the clouds, branches intertwining one another like a work of art. Perhaps she would have taken a moment to appreciate the planets sheer beauty if she wasn't gripping to the edge of the ship for dear life. Maeve's heart thundered against her chest, feet swaying beneath her as the contents of her breakfast nearly made an appearance."I can't do it.""Stop acting like a child," Captain Aloisa grumbled behind her. The captain gripped Maeve's shoulders and shoved her off the ship.Maeve'...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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