Even though there is no road to the north there are ten guards posted there, the east and west have four each, and the south only has two. I easily sneak up behind the two guards who are sitting passing a bottle back and forth. They are very lax and don't seem worried about getting caught.
That should mean no one checks on them until shift change, but since the last shift change was only a few hours ago everyone should be dead before the next change. I easily sneak up right behind them and reach around to cut their throats with my claws without them knowing what happened. They die quietly and I sneak off to head to the eastern group of four.
