This theory is mostly conjecture, and is probably pretty far out on a limb, but I thought I would just toss it out for argument's sake. I think that it is possible that it was the gholam that killed Asmodean. Consider that gholams were created specifically to assasinate channelers. The gholam could have slipped into position unnoticed with ease, and certainly has the ability to kill instantly. It may be a bit of a stretch to say that Asmodean would have recognized it, but since there were so few produced (six male and six female I believe) it is possible. We don't really know how individualized or distinctive each gholam was since there is probably only one around. The motive could be anything applicable, since the gholam would have been sent to do the bidding of another. The gholam seems to be under Sammael's control in Ebou Dar, but at the time of Asmodean's death it could very well have been subject to the will of another. After all, the first we see of the gholam is when it kills Fel, and I can't imagine that Sammael was behind that. In addition, it is possible that more than one gholam is on the loose in Randland. The main difficulty with this theory is the disposal of Asmodean's body. There was no trace of foul play, so this contradicts the usual gholam M.O. of leaving a hideously mutillated corpse or two in it's wake. However, the gholam could have been given specific orders to make Asmodean"disappear" without a trace, it seems to be intelligent enough for that. It could have simply stuffed the body into a crate and calmly walked out with it. It definitely has the strength to pull that off. Most of this argument is circumstantial, but is seems to add up to an interesting possibility. There may be no direct proof for it as such, but I haven't really seen any direct proof for any theory yet. If anyone can come up with anything to refute this, I would be interested in hearing it.