Upon arrival in Fez in late May 1438, Ferdinand's entourage was placed in a prison where they met two Portuguese prisoners previously incarcerated: Diogo Delgado and Álvaro Eanes of Alverca. Master Joseph, a Jewish surgeon and emissary of Salah ibn Salah who had accompanied the transfer from Asilah, was sent back by Abu Zakariya with instructions to inform Lisbon of the new circumstances. The entourage (plus the two prior prisoners) were sealed in the prison while awaiting the response. Conditions in Fez were considerably worse than at Asilah. Nonetheless, the two Portuguese prisoners taught the new arrivals how to get better food smuggled in from the city markets and put them in contact with a Majorcan merchant in Fez willing to supply the prince on credit. On 11 October 1438, with no satisfactory reply received from Lisbon, Ferdinand's status was downgraded from treaty hostage to common prisoner. Moroccan guards searched through the cells and confiscated much of their remaining money, contact with the outside was cut off and the Majorcan merchant was flogged for his troubles. The twelve men were shoved into a smaller dungeon built to hold eight, given prison clothing and set on a strict diet of bread and water. It was at this point that Ferdinand and his entourage were first put in leg irons. Fellow-prisoner Álvares reports that although the jailers occasionally threatened beatings and whippings, they never physically harmed Ferdinand or his companions, as they feared that any injury done to their prisoners would diminish their ransom value. Nonetheless, they forced Ferdinand to undertake manual labor that was humiliating and unbefitting a noble prince, e.g. hoeing the palace gardens and cleaning the horse stables. Even so, Álvares reports that Ferdinand was determined to partake in the same fate as his companions, and when they were assigned to the harder prison jobs that Ferdinand had been spared, Ferdinand volunteered to go and labor alongside them (although this was soon forbidden him).