The Big Little Lockford Lockdown was an incident that threw Little Lockford, a Gnome territory at the edge of the Undermire, into a state of chaos. For many years, the town's defenses were overseen by the Artificer Tixie Taffebeser Tockworth, a brilliant but increasingly-obsessive inventor whose Constructs guarded the streets and mines. Her Clockwork Defenders patrolled the districts while floating Clockwork Observers watched for intruders and relayed information back to the security center in the Overlook. Tockworth's inventions helped Little Lockford withstand repeated threats from monsters, raiders, and predators from the Deepways, and her reputation among the townsfolk steadily grew.
Eventually, however, her work became increasingly secretive and disturbing. She withdrew from public life and began replacing portions of her own body with mechanical components fashioned in her workshop in Smoldertown. Artificers and guild leaders attempted to intervene after Tockworth's behavior became erratic. Reports spread of strange outbursts, sleeplessness, and long conversations with unseen companions. Several residents claimed that she had lost interest in the well-being of her fellow citizens and now spoke of flesh as though it were weak or obsolete.
Mayor Zamzu Quickzipper Ukkem Zapp Mulberry Kreem ordered the militia to investigate and, if necessary, shut down Tockworth's workshop, but his attempt failed. Tixie's repaired Shield Guardian stationed outside the workshop drove the militia back, and soon afterward, she ordered her automatons to attack the town. Clockwork defenders turned on miners, guards, and civilians throughout the districts while observers hunted survivors through the streets. Mayor Kreem organized the survivors into a retreat through nearby tunnels and caverns beyond the city gates.
Many rock gnomes died during the evacuation, particularly in Old Lockford and Turbine Heights where militia forces attempted to hold back the constructs long enough for civilians to escape. Once the evacuation was complete, the remaining gnomes sealed the gates of Little Lockford with powerful magic to prevent the automatons from escaping into the Deepways. In the weeks that followed, the exiles established a temporary encampment outside the settlement and searched desperately for outside aid. Without their knowing, important community figures Igna Tynn Nimblepipe Bifimp Giltpurple Flint and Kavoda Zilhink Dazzlehat Urvi Oofenklanger had stayed alive, independently avoiding the automatons.
During that time, Tockworth remained inside the city, continuing her mechanical "apotheosis" while her creations reigned over the abandoned streets. The survivors eventually learned that Tockworth had built a fail-safe device into her workshop that could disable the constructs permanently, provided someone could recover the security key required to activate it.
In Tockworth's Clockworks, Mayor Kreem hired two outside Adventurers, Punmiri Tel-Phaeun and Nessa Nina Quickpick Rumbauld Pennyluck, alongside the town's cartographer Azimuth Andrea Almanac Caspian Kelshplotter and mining union leader Ragnum Ironknuckles. The four entered the sealed city, narrowly surviving near-death encounters, and retrieved Tockworth's key. Alongside forgotten criminals Slonk and Yuzzik, they shut down her automatons and defeated her in battle, forcing Tixie into retreat in the Overlook. However, using the Apparatus of Igna, they tunneled underneath the Overlook's iron defenses and defeated Tixie before she could complete her mechanical apotheosis, saving Little Lockford.
In the weeks that followed, the industrious gnomes cleaned up their city and mourned their dead. Ragnum joined Punmiri and Nessa as Igna took them back to the surface using her Apparatus, and Azimuth was elected its new Security Overseer. He vowed to ensure that Little Lockford would never allow itself to be controlled this way again.