Are they gone? Great. Well, the first thing to acknowledge is that while most of the plots in the first five books of George R.R. Martin’s series have been covered, there is still some material ripe for the picking. We already know, for example, that the Greyjoy family struggle—which was such a big part of book four—will finally take place in Season 6. Brace yourselves, rakish, eye-patch-wearing uncles are coming. We also know Sam’s journey to Oldtown—partially covered in book four—will play a big part this year. So if we can return to Greyjoy and Tarly plots from A Feast for Crows, then why not Brienne and Pod’s adventures in the Riverlands?

In the books, Brienne and Pod don’t wander around aimlessly searching for the Stark girls. While they are after Sansa, they have plenty of their own adventures along the way. And I’m not talking about how to avoid frostbite while standing around in the snow for three months.

In a more sedate chapter of their travels, Brienne and Pod encounter a Septon and wind up near a monastery of sorts where they probably have a near-brush with the presumed-dead Hound in disguise. We know that actor Rory McCann has been spotted around the Game of Thrones set and a casting call went out for Septon Meribald, so this plot is all but confirmed for Season 6. But Brienne already had her encounter with the Hound (and it was far from sedate) so it’s entirely possible that McCann’s scenes will be opposite someone else. Maybe Jaime, who also winds up in the Riverlands in book four. (More on that later.) But if Brienne misses out nearly re-uniting with the Hound, she has something even more exciting in the cards. Here are even more book spoilers so, once again, proceed with caution.

Over the past few months, Game of Thrones fans have been meticulously assembling clues that lead to a plum plot for our lady warrior. First of all, there’s the news that several “outlaws” have been cast. Though the character names—Lachlan, Flynn, and Japeth—have no direct book parallels, their description sounds vaguely familiar. According to the casting call, they’re a “a group of renegades who have turned on the land that they swore to protect . . . The group is using religion to justify terrorizing and extorting what they need from the people of the countryside.” As many fans have already noted, this might be a slightly twisted version of the Brotherhood Without Banners. Show watchers originally met that group back in Season 3 when the Brotherhood captured Arya, Gendry, and the Hound. You remember, their leader Beric Dondarrion had that neat flaming sword.