The guards look confused and scratch their heads in response to Richard's tale. They have no idea what he is talking about.
Sean and his friends bunks down for the night...
DAY 75
The next morning, Sean wakes to the comforting noise of civilisation.
The merchants in Bread Basket gladly accept the horses at the offered price - they need the animals for farming. The gear and feed fetches their full value.
The security forces have room in their budget to buy the guns, and the visiting merchants also express interest in weaponry. Sean can get the full value of the firearms. Ditto the armour pieces.
Payment in food and water is pretty standard around Bread Basket, so no problem there. They even prefer that over bullets, to an extent. The food is mostly canned for preserving, but there are bulk supplies of fresh meat and vegetables available thanks to nearby farming facilities. It doesn't take too long for interested parties to start getting out their accounting books and inventories.
The officials meet Sean sometime after that. They are friendly about discussing business. They let him start, if he has a particular topic he needs to know about...