Menu

Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog
Featured stories
Activity feed

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 49 of 571

Lady Nimmo and the Cursed Belt

Submitted to Contest #269

Oakaford strategically positioned stumpers to capture the shadow elves who were shooting arrows into Lady Nimmo's house. Oakaford and the stumpers took this very personally. She brought them to life, and because of this connection, they become extremely upset when someone tries to harm her."Okay, everyone," Oakaford whisper-shouted. "Less noise."The entire line of root-footed stumpers kicked up enough noise to alert a passed-out drunk troll who is hard of hearing. Of course, Oakaford's "whisper-shouting" only added to the cacophony.Ash-rim s...

31 likes 15 comments 15
Read story

The Choice

Submitted to Contest #269

Star listened to the hum of the force field that held her prisoner, the soft blue light the only illumination in the cold, dark room.  She let the tears she held back so tightly when the guard came around flow freely down her face. The tears the Special Forces commander shed were not of regret – she would have done it again if needed, but of betrayal by those who were supposed to be her friends broke her heart. People who said they loved her and that they would have her back always were nowhere to be found. Liars.  She s...

5 likes 1 comment 1
Read story

Fear the Crimson Tear

Submitted to Contest #269

In the dimly lit corner of a bustling New York City tavern, a young man named Henry Gilbert nursed a pint of ale with a look of quiet resignation etched into his gaunt features. His eyes, once lively with the excitement of academic discovery, now bore the weight of defeat and despair. His frayed shirt and disheveled hair spoke volumes of his recent misfortune, a stark contrast to the well-dressed patrons who chuckled and clinked glasses nearby. A linguist by trade, Henry had once held a prestigious position at the local university, his offic...

5 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

Passages of Patagonia on the Ship Destiny's Dreams

Submitted to Contest #269

In the attic of a lighthouse keeper's house built in the 1800s on the Mystical Coast, someone opened a weatherbeaten old wooden box in the corner. It contained the ship's logs and journals from the 1800s for a vessel called Destiny's Dreams.There was also a colorful, textured woven cape. It must have been treasured by someone very much.These are the stories of the voyages of the Destiny's Dreams from those journals.******Silhouetted against the sky, the young sailor named Joaquin climbed the rope ladders to the ship’s topsails of the vessel ...

28 likes 13 comments 13
Read story

The Thief's Lucky Charm

Submitted to Contest #269

I didn't mean to steal Mrs. Abernathy's cat. Honest. But when you're known as the neighborhood's most nimble-fingered "collector of misplaced items," sometimes things just... happen. And Mr. Whiskers happened to be wearing a very shiny, very pawnable collar. "Ruby!" Mrs. Abernathy's shrill voice cut through the humid Harlem air. "You bring Mr. Whiskers back this instant!"I peered down from my perch on the fire escape, the fat tabby purring contentedly in my arms. "Sorry, Mrs. A! Looks like he wanted a change of scenery. Can't blame him,...

6 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

The Mask of Sammy: A Tale of the Arts Department

Submitted to Contest #269

1937New York CitySammy flung a precise complement of steaming chestnuts into a paper bag - an impressive feat given the enormity of his signature scoop and his signature over-the-shoulder tossing arc. Whistling his slightly manic but jaunty signature tune, Sammy proudly conferred his toasty treasure to the Dapper Dan and his Dazzling Dame as they swayed in rhythm with him and the skyscrapers looming above. The city had become heavily anthropomorphized ever since the banks had recovered and folks had quit fleeing for California’s golden boule...

19 likes 4 comments 4
Read story

The Golden Pocket Watch of Elias Cobb

Submitted to Contest #269

The Golden Pocket Watch of Elias CobbThe Yukon heaven stretched out, vast and indifferent. Yet that morning it was pleasantly blue and pristine—a shining cupola of cloudless, northern sky. Spruce and pine, chalked and contorted by wind, stood silent. Their boughs were dusted with a light snow from the previous night’s fall. Ravens croaked and chickadees whistled, on and off.In the rivers and lakes ice granulated, drifting disparately through the myriad blues of glacial meltwater. April. Thawing.Elias Cobb trudged through the crackling under...

12 likes 8 comments 8
Read story

Power of Hope

Submitted to Contest #269

The Sun reflected from the waterlogged sandy coast of a deserted island embedded in a faraway broad ocean and shined the edges of burbling waves splashing against the flat ground and driving off sea creatures back underneath the subterranean where they hide from the sharp light of the Star’s glare.Surrounding the mysterious space of the island called by navy and fishermen – The Death’s Spirit – for its deadly shores inset with enormous cliffs that smashed every ship’s or boat’s fore when purposeful sailors sailing to its nearness and trying ...

3 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

I'll Never Do That Again

Submitted to Contest #269

I’ll Never Do That AgainbyBurt Sage “You want my most embarrassing moment?” I ask. “Yeah,” Fred says. “I thought it would be a good way to get us going tonight.” Our next door neighbors, Fred and Susan, are over for our regular Saturday night get together. Every other Saturday night they come over here; on alternating nights Karen and I go over to their place. We have dinner and then talk about the old days, current events, etc., but never politics. The visiting couple gets to choose the initial topic of conversation, and for tonight Fred a...

7 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Nick Palma, Once and Future King

Submitted to Contest #269

A black limo with tinted windows pulled up on Washington Street in Hempstead. Two burly men, dressed in black shirts and slacks, got out of the vehicle and headed for the front door of a small run-down house. Their arrival was observed by two Englishmen crammed inside a Mini Cooper, parked further along the road.The buzz of excitement around the start of the new school year had worn off. For Nick Palma, a Senior at Hempstead High, widely considered a nobody, it was a just another fall afternoon, the intermission between the drag of school an...

12 likes 3 comments 3
Read story

Jian

Submitted to Contest #269

JianThe world was in turmoil and leaderless without the benefit of a king. Hundreds of warriors gathered support of farming communities and other warriors and some veterans of war, all in a bid to claim the throne. Sir Robert of the Lowlands, a burly man that could swing his axe so hard that it would fell a tree in one stroke, was often favored to win the crown, but he was held back by the last contender for the prize, Sir Kay a close friend. Their armies fought each other on the battlefield many times but every battle ended i...

7 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

The Magic Feathers of the Caburé

Submitted to Contest #269

Tajñí Lelé is a forest elf from the world of the Wichi-Mataco indigenous people, the most well-known and powerful, famous for his magical powers. He was called “Cabeza de Sajasta” (Sajasta Head) because of his curly, tangled hair, similar to the lichen that grows on the leaves of trees. He wore a green hat with two holes through which his pointed ears protruded, which moved in the direction of the sounds he heard. He had dark skin and long, hoof-like nails. He always carried an axe on his shoulder and a quiver full of poisoned arrows. When h...

9 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

Operation: Snowball

Submitted to Contest #269

“Agent Bass, come in. Bass, can you hear me?” Special Agent Hinkle barked at me.“Loud and clear, boss. I can also smell your tuna sub.” I reply with bitterness. This is the third wild goose chase in three weeks. Stakeouts, no sleep, smelly hotels, fast food, and stuck in a 2008 Caprice Classic with Agent Tuna, is pushing me to the limit. This operation is a joke.“Keep the comments for the comedy club, Bass. Eyes on the prize.” Hinkle said“Yes, ma’am.” I attempt a respectful answer as I walk through Clevelan...

11 likes 1 comment 1
Read story

Magical Object

Submitted to Contest #269

The breath saws in and out of my lungs as I watch my foot step over the red rocks. The burn in my legs is pleasant, lowkey. My lungs feel strong, my body limber.  God, I love hiking. The humid, sweet smelling wind gently washes over my sweaty forehead, bringing some blessed cooling relief. “Ellie! Did you want a picture of the tank?” Jordan yells back at me. His blond hair has been bobbing up and down the red dirt hills as we make our way down to lower sigua falls. He likes to run ahead and sprint up the tall hills and then back down th...

6 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Avifauna

Submitted to Contest #269

Hard hot earth pressed into Nuavas palms. Flecks of obsidian speckled the dry ground. Sweat poured down her dark skin. Her arms and legs were stiff from crouching so long.  A couple of feet away from her a pile of the most shiny stuff she could find was collected in a heap. She had purposely set it a couple of feet from the Vorexs lair. The Vorex are simple creatures, according to the elders they were collectors, which was why she was here in the first place. The Vorex had somehow made it into their village and stole one of the elders' ...

4 likes 0 comments 0
Read story
RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

Bring your short stories to life

Fuse character, story, and conflict with tools in Reedsy Studio. All for free.