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One popular solution is to wait for them to get into trouble in Jzadirune or the Malachite Fortress, then have the Striders turn up to help them out. If they get captured, the hardcover suggests that Fario and Fellian can appear to give them a hand in escaping as well. Basically, I think the idea is to introduce them any time it seems dramatically appropriate throughout the first adventure, not necessarily before they head into the dungeon.
Once my group went to the orphanage, they were followed by one of the half-elves. There was a chance that the half-elf would be caught tailing them, which could be used as an intro. Having the group tailed all the way into Jzadirune could work too. You then have the failsafe of a rescue group if the party gets over their heads.
One of the characters in my group was an Urban Ranger, so once he got their names from the orphanage, he tracked them down. Introductions happened at that point.
My party also spotted them observing the orphanage. There was a fun chase through the streets until the party lost them in the market. They then started investigating these two mysterious half-elves.
So when these same half-elves showed up to save their bacon during the grell fight, it went something like this:
[Grell paralyzes yet another party member, things look very bad]
DM: You hear the sound of a number of people running behind you.
PARTY: Not something else!
DM: You recognize those two sketchy half-elves who were following you.
FIGHTER (who has been running up and down steps to try to get a whack in on the grell and isn't currently engaged]: I take up a defensive stance and hold my action until I see what these two are going to do.
DM: One of them tumbles past you and attacks the grell, the other approaches you and says, "Are you in need of healing?"
It was a nice moment, because they went from thinking they were all going to get whacked to cheers around the table as new allies showed their faces.
We didn't meet them until much later, introduced by Shensen after Flood Season. The PCs went from cautiously friendly to coldly hostile toward them over the course of their first days' acquaintance and have never warmed to them since. Sometimes you just can't predict character dynamics....
Shensen ended up as a party PC (with the party all the way through Smoking Eye) and the PCs took a quiet pleasure in having "stolen" her from the Striders.
I think the hostility arose from a feeling that the Striders were using the PCs as a stalking horse ("You stick your necks out, we'll stand back and see who cuts them off"). But it may also have hurt that the PCs didn't meet them until fairly late, so it rather appeared that they'd been standing by uselessly during previous threatening situations, especially Flood Season itself.
Mary