The leading men from the various townships discussed the question with those who had accompanied them, as well as with one another, and great and divergent arguments emerged from their debates. Next day, when they had all reached agreement, they issued the following reply:

‘Lord Nuno Álvares, we now well understand all that you proposed to us yesterday, yet consider it a very dubious undertaking for us to accompany you into battle against such an army, and for two principal reasons. The first is that it has as captains great lords and with them come vast and powerful forces. For they say that the following are coming: Don Juan Alfonso de Guzmán, the Count of Niebla; Don Diego Martínez, the Master of Alcántara; Pero González de Sevilla, the Governor of Andalusia; Juan Rodríguez de Castañeda; García González de Grijalba; Álvaro Pérez de Guzmán; Pedro Ponce de Marchena; Juan González de Carenzo; the cellarer [of the Order of Alcántara]; García Fernández de Villagarcía and Martim Eanes de Barbuda. They also say that Fernán Sánchez de Tovar, the High Admiral of Castile, is coming, as well as other great lords whose names we do not know, and that they are bringing with them 1,000 lances and more, all well equipped, along with many light horsemen, crossbowmen and a large force of foot soldiers. In view of our small numbers, such a conflict as the one proposed would be a very unequal fight.’

There then spoke up one Álvaro do Rego, a noble squire who accompanied Nuno Álvares: ‘My lord, it's true that, as to vast and powerful forces, that is certainly the case, because I’m acquainted with most of the captains who are heading this way. Let me add that, leaving aside the other troops, there are more men of honourable rank among them than we have here of ordinary stock.’

This remark was answered by Pedro Eanes Lobato, another squire in the service of Nuno Álvares: ‘As for me, my lord, let me say that I’d rather fight against all such great lords, so delicate as they are, than against hardy squires and men of toil who’d keep me busy all day, for these gentlemen who come here perfumed with rose-water and orange blossom are incapable of resisting long, and you’ll swiftly overcome them.’