Followers of the Forbidden Scriptures of Dingir Nakart Zhinn

Oh well, I think I need some help with the above “teasered” model.
It is, again, a construction logic question. Or two.

Usually, you see there a step or maybe it is supposed to be some kind of grenade lift on the side:

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With or, less often, without the grenade on the step.
Once I also found this built with the step (for lack of a better description) raised:

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mortar1

for some reason on the other (right) side.
You can also build it raised on the same, left, side, where the part usually fits.
But I still don’t know how it is supposed to work! Are those handles on the sides? Is it the ogre who can use them (because a dwarf clearly wouldn’t)? I don’t even know where to start explaining!

The other question concerns this part:

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IMG_6532

with a chain ending in nothing. Why?
If it is for pulling on it to make the signal thingy make a signal, shouldn’t it at least have a handle or be a bit longer?

(Edit: Ah, now the spoiler work! Thx @ below.)