Adventure Story Ideas

Adventure Story Ideas: 30 story ideas

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• Whotrail cook for a mule train
• Mustcross a strait in a brass diving machine
• By way ofa fish market hosing down before dawn
• Witha wind-up dog missing its key
• In the waya sandstorm that reburies the entrance
• The turna whole street joins the chase without knowing why

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1. A trail cook for a mule train must cross a strait in a brass diving machine by way of a fish market hosing down before dawn, with a wind-up dog missing its key. In the way: a sandstorm that reburies the entrance. The turn: a whole street joins the chase without knowing why.
2. A railway historian tracing a line that never opened must locate a footpath the guidebook put in the wrong valley by way of a tidal causeway open one hour in twelve, with a one-oared dinghy and a tin for bailing. In the way: lightning on an exposed ridge. The turn: a runaway engine stops for a cow on the line.
3. A pupil who took the wrong school bus home must get a becalmed crew to an island with water by way of a footbridge that is being painted, with a map smudged by a thumbprint at the vital junction. In the way: a wrong map drawn by someone confident. The turn: a factory whistle is answering another across the bay.
4. An archivist who found a folded chart in a ledger must reach a station on a railway that was never finished by way of the service tunnels under the opera house, with a guide who has only read about the route. In the way: a reef hidden just under the swell. The turn: a castaway's bottled message washes back with a reply.
5. A cabin steward on a first long voyage must retrace a lost expedition's last marked camp by way of a high pass that is open six weeks a year, with a compass that is three degrees out. In the way: a pickpocket who took the wrong thing. The turn: a steam bicycle outruns a locomotive on the bends.
6. A ticket puncher on a cliffside steam railway must repay a harbor debt before the season ends by way of a terrace of abandoned orchards gone wild, with a rubbing of an inscription nobody has read. In the way: a master clock that loses a minute every hour. The turn: an uncharted island turns out to have a lighthouse.
7. A retired tunnel engineer must guide a tired walking party down off a ridge by way of a strait with a current like a river, with a wind-up dog missing its key. In the way: a rockslide across the only trail. The turn: an airship's ballast turns out to be the missing mail.
8. A junior engineer of a clockwork lighthouse must bring a runaway locomotive safely into a siding by way of a dry canal lined with broken statues, with a packed lunch already half eaten. In the way: a station clock nobody has corrected since spring. The turn: a famous chart turns out to be a child's drawing.
9. An airship rigger afraid of heights must bring a figurehead back to the yard that carved it by way of a scree slope that moves like water, with a chronometer set to another city's noon. In the way: a storm front that is gaining by the hour. The turn: a rival inventor needs the same spare part.
10. A farm kid sent to find a missing goat must find a valley that fell off the maps by way of a pneumatic mail tunnel wide enough to crawl, with a trombone that must not get wet. In the way: a patent inspector with a stopwatch. The turn: a blank on the map was left blank as a kindness.
11. A glacier scientist following a meltwater stream must pedal a tray of cupcakes to a party without a spill by way of a dry riverbed that floods without warning, with a mule that holds strong opinions about bridges. In the way: a flat tire a mile from anywhere familiar. The turn: a plateau has been reached before, by goats.
12. A surveyor's assistant three weeks from any road must recover a sea chest from a sandbar at low tide by way of a shipyard where a brass hull is being riveted, with a one-oared dinghy and a tin for bailing. In the way: nightfall, an hour sooner than planned. The turn: a lost mule finds the trail and the party follows.
13. A taxi dispatcher who has never left the booth must follow a river to its mouth with no map at all by way of the windward side of an uninhabited island, with a chart drawn from memory on a tablecloth. In the way: a street cordoned off for a film shoot. The turn: an uncharted island turns out to have a lighthouse.
14. A museum guard in a first week on the job must signal a passing ship from an island with no trees by way of a drowned road visible only in a dry summer, with a folding bicycle that has a slow puncture. In the way: a factory district where every whistle sounds alike. The turn: a night outdoors ends at the kitchen door by nine.
15. A retired tunnel engineer must build a raft from oil drums and a hatch cover by way of a disused tennis court gone to brambles, with a fellow castaway who cannot swim. In the way: a clockwork guard dog wound to full tension. The turn: a hidden library turns out to be a single book.
16. A locksmith's apprentice called out at midnight must string a pulley line over a chasm before nightfall by way of a lagoon behind a ring of breakers, with a mule that holds strong opinions about bridges. In the way: a passage that narrows to the width of a shoulder. The turn: a last train waits because the driver is a cousin.
17. An archivist who found a folded chart in a ledger must test a pedal-powered flying machine off a pier by way of a maze of alleys behind the old theater, with a seal that follows the boat for scraps. In the way: a store detective following the wrong shopper. The turn: a lost valley has a mailbox, and it is emptied weekly.
18. A cousin left in charge of a backyard campsite must carry a doctor's bag over a pass to a snowed-in village by way of a tidal causeway open one hour in twelve, with an inventor too excited to sleep. In the way: a boiler gauge creeping into the red. The turn: a wrong map leads somewhere better.
19. A gas-lamp lighter who walks the rooftops must find a neighbor's lost dog before the rain starts by way of a slot canyon barely wider than a pack mule, with a fellow castaway who cannot swim. In the way: a rainy season arriving ahead of schedule. The turn: a pursuer only wanted to hand back a dropped glove.
20. An archivist who found a folded chart in a ledger must beat a rival courier to the same doorstep by way of a tramline strung between factory towers, with a carrier pigeon in a tiny leather harness. In the way: a power cut across the whole east side. The turn: a rival inventor needs the same spare part.
21. A river guide with one season's experience must fly an airship's mail over a mountain range before dawn by way of the ninth fairway after the last players leave, with a younger cousin who was supposed to stay behind. In the way: a patent inspector with a stopwatch. The turn: a storm puts out a fire nobody had seen yet.
22. A kite-balloon mail pilot must match a torn chart to its missing corner by way of an airship dock in a crosswind, with a rope exactly ten feet too short. In the way: a sandstorm that reburies the entrance. The turn: a competing crew throws over a towline.
23. An airship rigger afraid of heights must free a kite snagged on the water tower by way of a desert track between two wells a day apart, with a parrot that repeats compass bearings. In the way: a drawbridge that goes up every twenty minutes. The turn: a sealed chart, opened, shows only open water.
24. A hotel bellhop who notices everything must follow a creek to see where it comes out by way of a bog crossed on a line of sunken logs, with a pocket compass that spins near iron. In the way: a rising tide in a cave with one exit. The turn: a pursuer only wanted to hand back a dropped glove.
25. A dog walker with five leashes and one free hand must open a door at the back of a flooded mine by way of a funicular that stops halfway when it rains, with a crate of chickens that came off the deck cargo. In the way: a creek running higher than last week. The turn: a clock tower runs fast, and the deadline has not passed.
26. A helmet diver working from a salvage barge must test a pedal-powered flying machine off a pier by way of the ninth fairway after the last players leave, with an inventor too excited to sleep. In the way: a pickpocket who took the wrong thing. The turn: a clockwork owl has been keeping a log all along.
27. A canoe builder testing a new hull must get a message to a camp on the far side of a glacier by way of a scree slope that moves like water, with a pocket compass that spins near iron. In the way: a doorman who has been told to admit nobody. The turn: a rival inventor needs the same spare part.
28. A lighthouse keeper's niece rowing the supply boat must wind a city's master clock before it stops by way of a pine forest with no undergrowth and no landmarks, with a mule that holds strong opinions about bridges. In the way: a younger sibling who has promised to tell. The turn: a parcel turns out to be addressed to its carrier.
29. A glacier scientist following a meltwater stream must bring a runaway locomotive safely into a siding by way of the ninth fairway after the last players leave, with a rival who agrees to a truce until morning. In the way: a sandstorm that reburies the entrance. The turn: a creek comes out behind a very familiar school.
30. A cave guide who has named every chamber but one must reach a wreck before the spring tides shift it by way of a foundry floor during a pour, with a bicycle that has a basket and soft brakes. In the way: a guardian flock of very territorial geese. The turn: a sealed chart, opened, shows only open water.