Iria Gonçalves, the mother of Nuno Álvares, was at this time in Portalegre, a town that lies 4 leagues away from Crato, which was where the prior had arrived with his brothers. When she heard that her son Nuno Álvares had not come back with them, she at once hastened to Crato to ask what had become of him, her son. The prior announced that he had remained behind in Santarém and that he was expecting him daily. She answered that it looked as though he was little concerned about his brother and had never really liked him; this he had now made plain, since, despite his being in the prior's company, he had not bothered to bring Nuno Álvares with him.

Iria Gonçalves left at once for Lisbon, where she discovered that Nuno Álvares was now to be found. She told him just how serious and dangerous she felt the action was that he was keen to undertake, in going to serve the Master and help him to defend the realm against the whole of Castile and most of Portugal. She deployed many lively arguments as to why the course of action which he was taking could not succeed and why he could not thereby add either to his profit or honour. Determined to go ahead, Nuno Álvares plied her with opposing arguments which dismantled everything that his mother said. So much were they locked in argument that, though she had come to press her son to serve the King of Castile, Nuno Álvares induced her instead to promote the Master's cause.

When they both finally came to agree that what Nuno Álvares said was right, Dona Iria spoke again to him as follows: ‘My son, just as I now give you my blessing, since you have chosen to serve the Master and remain at his side, I beg you always to serve him faithfully and well and never to desert him in any way, whatever may happen. As for me, I shall immediately arrange for Fernão Pereira your brother to come and join you in serving the Master.’ Nuno Álvares answered that he would do as she asked.