And it is here at the slave market where a man's life can be bought as easily as an amphora of wine. Captives, lawbreakers and any others wretched enough to fall afoul of the Great Realm are cast into slavery and fettered in the cells beneath the city before being dragged out onto the block. Amid bellowing shouts and abuse, the slaves are paraded like cattle before a mass of frenzied bidders. The strongest slaves fetch great sums as the Masters of the gladiator academies vie to outbid one another for those they can train as warriors. Should their fortunes wane, some Masters come to the slave markets to sell their gladiators, and many a prize warrior has been chained and hauled onto the block for his master's gloating rivals to purchase.