Going south from our previous stop, in the inner square of the octangle that surrounds the Clock Tower, we come to here:
Here, at the southeast corner of the University's ancient clock tower, the Octangle stretches all around. A clear cobbled area surrounds the tower, echoing the shape of the courtyard itself, and ancient chestnut trees stand tall near the corners, shading the lawns and the cobbled paths. Mounted on the tower itself is a life-size statue of a previous Archchancellor and his dog, standing beneficient guard over a ground-level water fountain.
A fountain is pretty useful, especially if you have to make a floating cloud! I no longer have to visit the courtyard of the Institute of Illusionary Learning for this!
l statue
Tractamides 'Hunter' MacPherson, who took up the Archchancellor's Hat in the Year of the Paint-Stained Frog, was famously accompanied everywhere by his dog Sausage. A sedentary and peaceful pair, they enjoyed short strolls in Wizards' Pleasaunce together until his death in what was either a student prank during Rag Week or a cunningly disguised assassination attempt.
l dog
Sausage was, as his name suggests, a sausage dog. It has been tradition since Time Immemorial that Sausage should wear a hat. Several theories have been put forward to explain this, but the most prevalent one is that it's easier than reaching up to balance one on his master. He is currently wearing a miniature watchman's helmet.
l helmet
The Hatter is part of Unseen University's student folklore. Nobody knows who is responsible for the hats, and efforts to find out have been thwarted by their inherent sneakiness, alcohol, the cover of night, and general ineptitude on the part of the investigators.
The hat, in fact, changes from time to time. Last time I looked, it was a cone.
A solidly built bronze bowl of fresh water, greened by time, sits at a convenient height for a small dog to drink from.
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