Daedalus was standing on the balcony of his workshop, his eyes slowly scanning the sea and the sky. A bird landed on the low balcony wall, and then, sensing possible danger, flew off again. Daedalus smiled as his gaze followed the bird until it disappeared out of sight.
The workshop was on the 10th floor of a stone tower at the far end of the old deserted harbour. Daedalus worked day and night because he knew that Icarus, his son, would be killed if he ever displeased the man who was keeping them both prisoners.
The famous Daedalus of Athens, a brilliant inventor and engineer, had come to Crete to work for King Minos 10 years ago when Icarus was just a baby. He had intended to stay only a few years and then move on, but when the time came, Minos had refused to let Daedalus leave the island and had imprisoned him alone in the tower, forcing him to go on designing buildings and inventing weapons of war for Crete's powerful army.
Daedalus longed to return to the beautiful city of Athens and see his family. For the past few months, he had been working secretly on a plan that would get him and his son off the island of Crete.
The inventor had told the king that he needed supplies of bird feathers, wax, canvas and wood to build a new weapon for Crete's army.
He had informed Minos that he had invented a set of human wings that would allow a soldier to fly over an enemy army and attack from the air. This had never been done before, and the king and his advisers were awed.