As the Outlander Season 6 premiere date inches closer and closer, the production team is giving fans more crumbs on what to expect this season. In TV Guide Magazine's Outlander Forever Special Collector's Issue, the cast and crew teased some book plots to expect in Outlander Season 6. Stars Caitriona Balfe, Sam Heughan, John Bell, César Domboy, and Lauren Lyle, along with executive producer Maril Davis and showrunner Matthew B. Roberts, chatted about the headspace of the characters in Season 6 and gave a bit more of an idea of which A Breath of Snow and Ashes plots will happen.

Many of the quotes in the collector's issue are similar to things that Balfe and Heughan have said before about the upcoming season. Like how Claire is feeling "destabilized" after her abduction and sexual abuse in the Season 5 finale, how Richard Brown is "extremely dangerous and very powerful," and how the Ridge is beginning to "decay." But there were some teeny tiny confirmations that should make readers of Diana Gabaldon's books feel excited. Here's what the book fans can look forward to based on TV Guide's interview.

Spoilers ahead for A Breath of Snow and Ashes.

Indian Agent to the Crown

The Season 6 opening credits heavily hinted at this, but TV Guide was able to confirm that Jamie will be serving as an "Indian Agent to the Crown" with Young Ian by his side. They'll visit Native American Cherokee tribes in the North Carolina backcountry as British liaisons. And maybe Jamie will get some female attention doing his duties. (If you know, you know.)

Based on quotes from Roberts, the Indian Agent role will be how viewers find out about what happened when Ian lived with the Mohawk. Although Roberts said that Ian and Jamie are "teammates" with the Cherokee, it does cause some personal conflict for Young Ian. "... Ian is being pulled in two directions," Roberts said. "Who is he? An American Indian or a Scot? We see that pull — and learn what happened to him when he was with the Mohawk." This is a departure from the books since Ian's experience with his wife Emily is most prominently highlighted when he confides in Marsali and Brianna.

As for Jamie, in the book, he resigns from being an agent after he presents the Cherokee peace chief, Bird-who-sings-in-the-morning, with guns on behalf of the British (in hopes they'll fight against the Patriots in the upcoming American Revolution). It's unclear if that storyline will play out the same way on the show, but Heughan did mention Jamie's shifting loyalties for the upcoming war. "He knows he's on the wrong side, the British, and at some point, he is going to have to switch," the Jamie actor said.

The Christies

Starz has been pretty open about the antagonistic role the Christies will play this season and Davis noted to TV Guide that Malva will be a "key character." (Oh, book readers know all about that.)

As for her father, Tom, their time at Ardsmuir together will be explored. "The history between Tom and Jamie gets under the skin of everyone," Heughan said. "It starts to decay what Claire and Jamie have built."

But the new info that TV Guide presented was that, as the leader of the Fisher-folk, Tom's "strong Protestant beliefs" will clash with Jamie's Catholicism. This seemed likely, but it's good to know that the show is keeping this storyline intact.

Also good to know is that Mark Lewis Jones isn't as dour as his onscreen counterpart. "He had Sam and I in stitches [during a scene] when there is a little operation Claire has to do on Tom," Balfe added.

Richard Brown & The Ridge

Besides the Christies, another baddie of the season is Richard Brown. And from the cast and crew's comments, it sure sounds like the new settlers on the Ridge will turn on Claire, allowing Richard Brown to take her into custody.

"They call her a witch," Roberts said. "She's OK with that. She understands that because Jamie is the law of the land, she's protected ... We'll see how protected Jamie can keep her."

The Fire

Here's one book storyline that the people behind the show wouldn't confirm will happen just yet — the house fire. Davis told TV Guide that the Big House burning down (which has been a plot point since Season 4) might not occur in Season 6 since it was shortened to eight episodes. Davis also wouldn't commit to saying if the time traveler Wendigo Donner would return this season, though she did add that he's "certainly in the back of Claire's mind."

However, Davis did talk about how Brianna and Roger are trying to use their 20th-century skills to fit in the 18th century and that "crazy things happen." Does anyone else smell the burning of matches?

As for what else the show was willing to tease at this point, Roberts mentioned that there will be more stylistic departures from the books, similar to Claire's dreamscape in the Season 5 finale. "You might see something you're not expecting," Roberts said. "There are a couple of episodes I'm not going to reveal because it definitely has to be a surprise."

Well, whatever Season 6 of the show throws viewers' way when it premieres on March 6, at least Outlander fans are accustomed to expecting the unexpected.

Images: Starz