The Danliss river rises in the Porbello Mountains and flows into East Zabrial from the south-west. The only major natural waterway to run through the Zabrial Desert, the fertile land flanking its banks are thickly populated strips of civilisation. Travelling along it is also the preferred way of traversing the desert from the south. For centuries the Danliss was East Zabrial's major transportation route and only source of drinking water. Though the East Reach Canal and the great aqueducts marching in from the Brown Hills have reduced it importance, it is still vital. Underground streams flowing into it help feed wells, its banks are usually lined with women doing their washing and boats are thickly clustered on its waters, especially on the crucial stretch between the docks and the Gunti Market. It is a useful little river.
Its most frequent travellers are the vessels of the Danliss Boatmen, or the Stitchers as they are generally known. They run the passenger ferries which cross the river and run up and down it within the city boundaries. Additionally, they handle most commercial deliveries along it, keep its stretches navigable and even act as an informal Guards unit. The Stitchers are an ancient and influential body, fiercely protective of their privileges. When Zabrial's commercial laws were being altered in the late 1000's, the boatmen successfully lobbied to ensure their profession was exempted from the ban on guilds and allow them to continue controlling its membership. Indeed, the body operates almost like an aristocracy, with boats, boating rights and acceptance being handed down from father to son. They have their own customs, culture, legends, jargon and meeting places. Even marriages are usually made within the group. Though the Boatmen are resented by wider society (they claim their nick-name comes from their skill in repairing sails and fishing nets, others say it derives from the way they have stitched up their profession) they are also respected for their sheer bloody-mindedness. Romantics and realists alike admire a part of crumbling Zabric society which is still able to continue doing what it has always done. And though their services are on the expensive side, they are also generally performed superbly.
Nyako's Wrench in southern East Zabrial is a prime example of an exclusive Stitchers tavern. Not only is the name incomprehensible to anyone else, the building is only accessible from the river. And the Danliss flows straight into it, forming a pool in the centre of the main drinking room. Die-hard boatmen can drink without ever getting out of their vessels, although boards surround three sides of the room and entirely dry rooms also lie behind it.