This should get you from 100 pyreals to about 140 and this is just enough to buy a kite shield at a smith's shop. This is the thing to buy first, as a shield adds armor to the entire front of your body, so it gives you the most bang for the buck right now while money is tight. There's a full section about combat later in this manual. Read it before heading out. Food is probably the lowest value item, though as a rank beginner it's still worth picking up to sell.
Weapons are easily salable and worth a fair bit.
Take them anyway, but don't expect a big pay day. The real winner is a piece of jewelry. Even something as boring as an iron necklace is worth a couple of hundred pyreals. Jump on these when you find them and run back to town to cash in. A single piece of jewelry is worth almost any piece of starting armor.