The pirate cannon 2/7

Dave was sailing the lugger Misty Magic down the Therdle to the goblin boatyard. He smiled as he passed over the mudflat at the creek entrance, remembering the recent battle with the pirates. The boatyard foreman came to meet him as he lowered sail and tied up alongside the quay.

"Good morning Norman."

"'Morning Dave, what can I do for you today?"
Dave explained that he would like to examine the pirate guns to see if there were any clues as to who had made them. Norman took him into one of the smaller sheds where the cannon were being kept. A small heap of round stones and a barrel of gunpowder were lying beside them.

Dave crouched down and looked at one of the cannon.

"It's very crude," he said, "the 'barrel' isn't even gas tight. It's only made out of strips of iron with bands welded round to stop it from bursting, with a pot at one end to hold the charge. What with that and stones for cannon balls, it's small wonder they couldn't hit us."

"No one in this world would have made them," said Norman, "it looks like dwarfish work to me, made in the alternate world. Even so it's crude by their standards and I've not been able to find any markings to show where they might have come from."

Dave had to agree with him. He turned his attention to the gun carriages. By contrast they had been beautifully made. The work was very simple and very strong. The person who'd made them was an expert carpenter and obviously knew that they were meant to carry heavy loads.

"Now there I might be able to help a bit," said Norman, "as we're in a similar line of work, so to speak. We can't obtain wood of that quality without going to the alternate world. The nearest supplier of that sort of timber is the wood yard near Lurgin's Bridge."

"Oh good," said Dave, "my wife's gone there, perhaps she'll be able to find someone who remembers supplying the wood."