We're challenging you to write a short story with a maximum word count of 5000.

Your story has to be primarily Adventure, but it can be any subgenre you like. You have until midnight on 31st August(EST) to submit your entry.

Once you've completed your story and published it here on Wattpad, please post the link to your completed entry in the comments at the bottom of this page so we know you've entered. If you don't post your link, or if you post the link later than the mentioned deadline, you won't be considered entered.

The interpretation of each prompt is entirely left to the writer, so we highly encourage you to unleash your curiosity and creativity with these prompts.

Co-writing is allowed, and it has to be a new story, not one that you've previously posted on Wattpad. English is the only story language we can accept as of now.

You can publish the story as a chapter of a short story collection if you have one of those.

Prompts

1. While hiking through a dense, uncharted forest, you trip over a buried object. Digging it up, you find an ancient compass with intricate designs. It doesn't point north but leads you to a hidden valley untouched by time, where the flora and fauna are unlike anything you've seen.

2. After the passing of a distant relative, you inherit an ornate key accompanied by a cryptic note: "Unlock the world." Despite trying every lock you know, nothing fits. Then, you hear rumours of a legendary city that might hold the answer.

3. During a deep-sea diving expedition, your team discovers an underwater cave filled with luminescent crystals. The cave walls are covered in ancient symbols, hinting at a civilization lost to history, and you feel a strange energy pulsing through the water.

4. You join a renowned expedition to explore a newly discovered island that appears on no maps or satellite imagery. As you venture inland, you find ruins that challenge all known history and creatures that defy scientific explanation.

5. As an archaeologist, you uncover a relic in a forgotten temple that seems to control the weather around you. Suddenly, you're thrust into a race against a secret organization that will stop at nothing to claim its power.

6. Exploring a deserted castle rumoured to be haunted, you discover a hidden passageway. It transports you to a parallel world where magic is real and mythical creatures roam the land. You're caught between two warring factions seeking your help.

7. You receive a letter from a friend who vanished years ago, inviting you to the remote peaks of a mountain range where the air is said to grant immortality. As you ascend, you encounter guardians of ancient secrets and a community hidden from the modern world.

8. A mysterious figure hands you a map marked with a path leading to the "Edge of the World." Sceptical but intrigued, you set off on a journey across treacherous landscapes, facing challenges that test your courage and beliefs.

9. On a solo sailing trip, you're caught in a violent storm and shipwrecked on a shore that doesn't appear on any chart. The island is inhabited by creatures from legends, and you must navigate its mysteries to find a way home.

10. A stranger gives you a ticket for a train that doesn't exist on any schedule. Boarding out of curiosity, you find yourself on a journey through landscapes that shift like dreams, with fellow passengers who each hold a piece of a larger puzzle.

Best of luck!