The poachers will only appear if you agreed to kill them for the Bedokaan lizards. Then you can either keep your word to the lizards (and pick up all the loot from the poachers, including an elephant gun) or betray the lizards to the poachers for 1000 gold. If you betray the Bedokaan lizards, you'll earn a fate point, but the altar to Makaal will stop working, and you might not be able to complete the Ancient Gods quest.